The Parasite
by gubernaculum
Summary: When bodies start turning up in Cardiff, Captain Jack Harkness isn't surprised. It's all happened before.
1. Chapter 1

"The bandstand, Fish! Go!" Ianto shouted across to his colleague. He and Joseph Fischer or Fish, as the team affectionately called him, were chasing a Weevil across Grange Gardens. Ianto had seen it take off running across the pitch and head for the bandstand, disappearing through the high hedges. Fish changed directions, slipping a little on the grass and then took off, gun drawn as Ianto circled around in the other direction.

"Fuck all!" Fish yelled as he shoved his way through the high hedges that separated the pitch from the bandstand area. He did his best to shield his face but he emerged sputtering leaves and shaking his head. He craned his neck to look around the park and saw nothing.

Ianto came around from the other way, without pieces of hedge on his suit. How the Welshman always managed to look so well groomed was beyond Fish. Even running full out through a Cardiff park in the middle of March, Ianto managed to look like he'd just come out of a business meeting with his pristine suit and shining dress shoes.

"I fucking lost it," Fish cursed. "Bugger!"

Ianto craned his neck looking past the bandstand. "Maybe it doubled back," he said.

Then Fish saw it, a running figure ducking between two cars on the street.

"There!" he pointed and took off running with Ianto fast on his heels.

The two men ran down towards the street, coming to a halt on the kerb. They both looked up and down the road. Ianto gripped at Fish's arm as he saw a figure running around the corner, down the more busy Corporation Road.

"That way!" Ianto said and the two men took off.

The minute they rounded the corner, they saw the Weevil, popping down a manhole.

"Well thank fuck for that," Fish said, bending over, panting a little. "I thought we were going to be chasing that fucking thing all bloody night!"

Ianto smiled at the Australian as he caught his own breath. "Jack and I love Weevil hunting."

"Is that what you're calling it these days, mate?" Fish teased and Ianto blushed.

"The reports can wait for tomorrow. Buy you a pint?" Ianto asked, looking at his watch. It was past nine.

"Yeah, sounds good," Fish said. "Know anywhere around here?"

Ianto shook his head. "Let's head back to the car. There's a good place by my old flat."

The two had parked Ianto's car further down Holmesdale Street so they started walking, chatting a little as they went. Ianto was concerned when he noticed that Fish was walking with a slight limp.

"Your knee acting up?" Ianto asked. "Want me to get the car and come back for you?"

"Nah, just twinges a bit, I slipped a bit on the pitch," Fish said, his nose wrinkling. "I think it may have been dog mess."

"You're not getting into my car with that on your shoes!" Ianto shouted as the two stopped, Fish checking the soles of his trainers with his hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"Nah, we're good," Fish said with a laugh. "Torchwood is nothing but glamorous."

Ianto chuckled as well and the two resumed walking. Suddenly, Fish stumbled, tripping over something on the kerb.

"What the bloody hell…?" he exclaimed as Ianto grabbed his arm to steady him. The two men looked back and saw a leg jutting out from between two parked cars onto the pavement. Drawing their guns, they moved to investigate. Ianto, the more senior field agent, was in front. Normally Jack or Miranda, the immortal members of the team, would be taking point but both of the immortals were back at back at the Hub, dealing with a poisonous plant. Ianto came around the parked car's boot with his gun raised and saw a man laying on the street, half on the kerb, his eyes staring dead up into nothing. He bent down and felt for a pulse.

"He's dead," Ianto said, standing up and looking around.

"Poor bastard," Fish said. He took out his mobile. "I'll phone the police."

"Wait a second, Fish," Ianto said, taking out a pair of latex gloves from his back pocket.

"I don't want to know why you have those on you," Fish said with an eye roll. "You shouldn't touch him, mate. Leave it for the police. Hit and run isn't exactly Torchwood."

Ianto ignored him. He'd seen something at the back of the man's neck. After donning the gloves, Ianto gripped the man's hair at the nape of his neck and pulled. The hair and scalp came away like a flap.

Fish winced. "Probably got tossed about."

"No rigor mortis and he's still warm," Ianto said as he tilted the man's head to get a better look. He lifted the flap of scalp again and winced when he saw bone. The light was too dim for him to get a proper look so he felt around with the gloved finger. There was a hole in the man's skull, perfectly round as if from a drill bit, about the size of a one pound coin. With a small grunt, Ianto tugged the man onto his side, revealing the wound fully. Fish leaned down, intrigued.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he asked.

"Call Jack and Mandy," Ianto said, standing up and removing the gloves. "I think this one is ours."

"You think we need Gwen, mate?" Fish asked as he dialed Miranda's mobile.

Ianto shook his head. "I don't think so. She and Rhys were having dinner out tonight."

Fish nodded. They all hated to disturb Gwen after she'd gone home, especially on the couple's set date night. The former PC was always glad to work late and pitch in but all of the team took steps to help preserve her little slice of normality. Once Jack and Miranda were on their way, Fish and Ianto started to examine the surrounding area while they waited. Both men stood up when they heard the roar of the SUV's engine as it barreled down the street with Jack behind the wheel. The immortal man double parked, blocking the road in his typical driving style.

"I think the cycle's started again, Jack," Ianto said standing up to meet the two immortals as they got out of the SUV. "The body's down between the cars, Mandy."

Miranda Ryan clapped Ianto on the shoulder as she passed him, her portable medical kit in one hand and a body bag rolled under her arm. The two men started to talk. Fish saw the Torchwood medic crouch down low, torch in hand, examining the body with gloved hands.

"There's nothing in the surrounding area, just the body," Fish said as he watched her dig into the man's pockets and take out his wallet.

"Michael Howard," she said reading his driving licence and then started flipping through the rest of the wallet's contents. "There's nearly forty quid in here… "

"Not a robbery then," Fish said.

"You and Ifan didn't see anything?" Miranda said as she sunk a thermometer into the man's belly and Fish winced a bit. Fish had been a chemist working on hybrid car batteries before coming to work for Torchwood and even though it had been three years of aliens and bodies and all sorts of strange goings on, some things still turned his stomach a bit.

"Not a thing, Evie, but we were chasing a Weevil down the cross street," Fish said pointing off in the other direction and using his name for her. When he'd first started working for Torchwood, he'd tried to use her current alias but he couldn't think of her as anything but Evelyn, the name she'd been using when he'd met her.

Miranda looked down at the thermometer and then handed Fish a pair of gloves. "Thirty six point six. He's been dead less than a half hour. Help me get him into this bag, Fish."

Together the two of them loaded the body into the bag and then carried it back to the SUV to load it into the boot.

"I'll do the autopsy tonight, Jack," she said.

"I'll start pulling the old reports," Ianto said. "Rain check on that pint, mate?"

"Yeah, Ianto, sure," Fish said. "What's going on Jack?"

"We're not sure yet, Fish," Jack said. "If this is what we think it is, we'll need you tomorrow. Go home."

"Ianto, can I get a lift back to the Hub?" Fish asked not really wanting to endure Jack's driving.

"Sure," Ianto said as he walked back towards his own car.

Fish had heard the edge in Jack's voice and seen the nervous glances his three team mates were exchanging. Whatever was going on wasn't good.


	2. Chapter 2

The three of them waved goodbye to Fish as he drove off home and then loaded the body onto the gurney. Ianto laid the body out on the autopsy table along with Miranda's usual instruments as the immortal woman changed into a pair of scrubs. Even though she had nothing to fear from disease, alien or otherwise, Miranda still followed the Torchwood safety protocol. She was wearing a gown, gloves, mask and face shield as she started the autopsy.

"Thanks, Ifan," she said.

"Can I bring you anything else?" he asked. "Want me to run these?"

"That'd be great," she said as Ianto moved off towards the lab area, to begin processing the blood. She stepped on the small recorder button by her foot. Normally she began an autopsy with the body face up but this time, she wanted to focus on the injury first.

"This is the body of Michael Howard, a well nourished Caucasian male, age forty. Short hair, dark brown. Eyes brown. A six by four centimetre wound is noted at the hair line on the posterior side of the head down to the skull, exposing the os occipitale. The exposed bone has a twenty three millimetre circular wound, photos taken." She stepped on the recorder button again and produced a small camera to photograph the wound.

Ianto came back into the room, tilting his head to look at the wound.

"Where's Jack?" Miranda asked.

"In his office, I'd imagine. Want me to fetch him?" Ianto asked.

"Please," she said.

Ianto took the autopsy bay stairs two at a time as Miranda continued with the autopsy. It was only a few moments before Jack was walking down the stairs to stand beside her.

"What's up, Will?" he asked.

"Is Ifan in the archives?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's pulling the old files," Jack said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Good, I need to compare my notes from the autopsy I did in eighty eight," she said.

"Something different this time?" Jack asked. He put his hands on his hips and leaned over the corpse, shaking his head at the circular hole in the man's skull.

"A slight change in the wound size, two millimetres larger," she said with a shrug.

"Hardly significant," he said.

"I know but it's something. I forget if the previous autopsies had measurements taken."

"The last autopsy was done before the Depression," Jack said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood up. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

"We've been expecting this all year, Jack," she said. She could feel the frustration rolling off of Jack and she knew exactly where this conversation was going to end up.

"Think we should have told the others sooner?" Jack asked.

"There was no point. We always find the bodies quickly. There was no way we could have prevented this," she said, waving down at Howard's corpse.

"This's got to stop. I don't want to have to do this again in twelve years," Jack said with a sigh.

"We will, Jack," Miranda said. "This is your Torchwood. It isn't the way it was before and it's not just the two of us the way it was last time."

"We should have stopped it then," he said ruefully, shaking his head.

"You and I were running ragged, Jack," she said. "By the time it started, there was that Blowfish drug ring and then that fiasco with the weather control satellite."

"I know," Jack said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair again. "The cause of death the same?"

"After I do this lumbar puncture, I was going to open the skull to find out," Miranda said as she inserted the spinal needle into the corpse's back. She attached the syringe to the needle and drew back on the plunger. With a sigh, she withdrew the needle and picked up her scalpel. "Nothing, just like the other one."

Jack took a few steps back from the table as Miranda began slicing into the scalp, making an incision across the crown of the head from ear to ear. She carefully dissected back the scalp, folding the two flaps down and away, exposing the skull.

"Hand me that saw please, Jack?" she asked, holding out her hand.

He passed her the instrument and took a few more steps back.

"Squeamish?" she teased.

"Do you know what Ianto will do to me if I get bone bits on this shirt?" he said.

"Something you'd end up enjoying, I imagine," she said with a slight chuckle. Turning back to the task at hand, Miranda started to saw into the skull. She removed the cap and laid it on the autopsy table. Jack stepped forward to look over her shoulder.

"A small subdural haematoma," she said, looking at the dark staining inside the cap. There was also a large blood clot adhered to the brain. Miranda bent down and started carefully dissecting around the brain, freeing it from the skull. She dropped it onto a small tray and sliced it in half.

"Cerebral haemorrhage, just like the others," she said, pointing at the organ. Jack looked at the brain, seeing the characteristic darkening of the tissues.

"If you get muck on that shirt, Jack…" Ianto warned from the top of the autopsy bay stairs and Jack immediately stood up and backed away.

Miranda smothered a grin. "Ifan? Can you flip through some of the autopsy reports? I want to know all the measurements of the holes."

After throwing Jack a deep frown, Ianto turned and went to look up the information she requested.

"See! The Frown!" Jack said, pointing after Ianto.

"I heard that!" Ianto called back.

Miranda rolled her eyes and said to Jack, "Put on a gown and some gloves, Jack. I need to flip him over so I can finish this up."

Jack went over to the medical cupboard and took out a gown and a pair of gloves. After he'd put them both on, he helped Miranda carefully turn the body over onto its back.

"Oh man!" Jack said as he took the gown off. There was a smudge of blood on his cuff.

"The peroxide," Miranda said, nodding to the red squeeze bottle.

"What?"

"Hydrogen peroxide, it'll remove the blood," she said.

Jack squirted the liquid onto some gauze and started dabbing at the blood stain.

"It's bubbling. Is it supposed to do that?" Jack asked, brandishing his cuff at Miranda.

"What are you doing?" Ianto asked as he came down the autopsy bay stairs.

"Nothing," Jack said, hiding his arm behind his back.

Ianto crossed the room and seized Jack's arm, bending to look at the stain. "You should have worn a gown!"

"I did, Yan!" Jack said as he allowed Ianto to scrub the bloodstain out of his cuff.

"Did you get those measurements, Ifan?" Miranda asked, resisting laughing at the two men. They were acting like an old married couple.

Ianto dabbed at the stain a few more times before he turned away from Jack and handed her a slip of paper.

"There were only four autopsies," Ianto said.

"I know," she said raising an eyebrow at the paper. "Hand me that calculator please, Jack?"

Jack handed the pocket calculator over to her and she started to punch in numbers.

"Bloody standard measurements," she muttered. "The 1916 measurement says 'roughly five eighths of an inch'."

"That's fifteen millimetres. Your report from the eighties said twenty one millimetres," Ianto said.

"And this one is twenty three," Miranda said. "The wound is getting larger."

"That's just an assumption, Will," Jack said. "'Roughly' back then could have been a lot and then the conversion? We don't have measurements for anything after the twenties."

"Just something to keep in mind, though, Jack. I'm going to finish up this autopsy, and then I'll write my report," she said, turning back to the body. "Ifan? Arrange everything in chronological order and I'm sure Gwen is going to want a map. If you could also work with Fish tomorrow, we need to start arranging the cover story for this man's disappearance."

Ianto nodded as he was unbuttoned Jack's cuff so he could attack the stain better. "I'll see to it in the morning, Mandy."

Giving up on the stain, Ianto started to unbutton Jack's shirt as Jack slid his braces off his shoulders. Ianto heaved out a sigh, muttering to himself, "I'll have the dry cleaner sort it."

"Don't stay up too late, Will. It's nearly eleven," Jack said.

Miranda shook her head over her work. She heard the two men bickering as they headed for their shared bunker like an old married couple.


	3. Chapter 3

The whole team was gathered in the boardroom for the briefing and Ianto was passing out beverages. Miranda accepted the empty glass and soda can from Ianto with a nod of her head and a smile. The Welshman handed her both with a slight flourish and wry smile the rest of the team were used to. As always, Miranda popped the top of the soda can and drank, ignoring the empty glass.

"That is so unsanitary, Mandy," Ianto said with mock seriousness. "I've started wiping the rim."

"Is that what you're calling it these days," Gwen chuckled from Jack's left and Ianto blushed.

"I don't understand how you can drink that stuff first thing in the morning, Evie," Fish said with a shake of his head.

"I've had my coffee already," Miranda said, eyes twinkling from behind the can.

"All right, everyone," Jack said from the head of the table. "Yesterday, Fish and Ianto were on a Weevil hunt and found a body."

"Tripped over is more like," Fish said with an eye roll and there was a slight ripple of laughter.

"Anyway," Jack said sternly, "he was murdered and it's something we've seen before. Will?"

Miranda tapped the tablet in front of her and the screen above filled a man's picture.

"Our victim. His name is Michael Howard, age forty. He was a barrister and lifelong Cardiff resident," Miranda said. "Cause of death was brain haemorrhage."

She slid her finger along the tablet and another picture, this one of the skull wound, came into view.

"Mr. Howard was completely drained of his cerebrospinal fluid via this hole in the back of his head," Miranda said.

"And that would cause a brain haemorrhage?" Gwen asked.

Miranda nodded. "The human brain weighs over a kilogram and the tissues are incredibly delicate. Without the cushion of cerebrospinal fluid, the brain would crush itself under its own weight."

"You said we've seen this before?" Fish asked.

She nodded and continued. "Since the turn of the twentieth century, there has been a cyclic pattern of twelve bodies appearing every twelve years. First one body pops up and then in four days another and so on. Once we have the twelfth body, the killing stops. The same happened at the turn on the millennium and again back in 1988."

"The first incident recorded by Torchwood was in 1916, one body," Jack said. "They found two in 1928 but once we knew what to look for, we found them all during the next cycle. All twelve were found in 1940 and in 1952."

"So whatever this is, it's emerging every twelve years and killing twelve people," Gwen said. "One for each year it's dormant?"

"We don't know but that possibility has been raised," Miranda said.

"We've never managed to catch this thing? After all this time?" Fish said, an air of disbelief in his voice.

"We didn't even know what was going on until the forties and by then the war was on. After that?" Jack said with a shrug. "Frankly, no one cared."

"What?" Gwen and Fish both exclaimed.

"You lot don't understand. All you've known is Torchwood under Jack Harkness," Miranda said as she sat back down, steepling her fingers in front of her face in her usual Spock-like pose. "The first time I saw one of these bodies was in 1964. Tabby Rutherford was in charge back then. She had Gabe Morris and Jack load the body bag into the incinerator without an autopsy."

"Nothing?" Gwen asked, shocked.

"We didn't have a doctor then and Charles Cromwell didn't want to be bothered with an autopsy when he already knew what the cause of death was. To them? This was a non-issue. We already knew what was going on. We knew it was alien. It wasn't escalating so no one cared," Jack said with a shrug.

"But you and Jack-" Gwen sputtered.

"Jack and I weren't even remotely in charge back then, Gwen," Miranda snapped. "We followed orders."

"Focus people," Jack said. "Regardless of what Torchwood's done in the past, we're putting a stop to this now. This is going to be the last cycle."

Gwen furrowed her brow and Miranda could tell she was going into her investigation mode. "Is there anything about the victimology that could help us?"

Miranda tapped the screen of the tablet and the pictures changed. Three were black and white, old macabre photographs of the bodies but the rest were modern colour snapshots either of the victims in life or death. "Like I said, we don't have much to go on. There are very few autopsies and little identification. The one in 1916 was Edith Wyn, a local washerwoman. There's no background information there. An autopsy was done just to determine cause of death and then she was buried. The two in 1928 weren't even identified and were also autopsied just to find cause of death. The rest of the bodies were just photographed and unless they had some sort of identification on them, we didn't bother with it."

"We still have all that information?" Gwen asked.

"Ianto has it organised. We'll bring it in here after the meeting, Gwen, so you can go over it with Will," Jack said.

"The autopsies didn't start up again until the eighties, after I got my medical degree. I missed the cycle in the seventies but I came back to Torchwood in 1984. Samuel Aubrey was in charge then. He thought it was a waste of time so he only let me autopsy one of the bodies - the first victim, a young girl named Hannah Prichard, a teenage runaway and crack addict. Again, we just have photographs of the other bodies. Any Jane or John Does went unidentified," Miranda said with a sigh.

She took a quick sip of her soda before she continued, "When the killing started up again at the turn of the millennium, Jack and I were swamped. It was just the two of us. I autopsied as many of the bodies as I was able and we tried to identify who we could. I only managed to do four autopsies and we were only able to identify two of the unidentified victims."

Miranda tapped the screen and the twelve pictures lined up. "For the last cycle, we have identities for ten of the twelve victims. All of them were residents of the city from a variety of ethnicities, occupations and socio-economic backgrounds. The only common thread between all of them was that they were all being treated for severe mental illness with a number of psychotropic medications or they were drug addicts. Each one of the people we identified being treated for mental illness was on no less than three medications simultaneously."

"The same mental illness?" Gwen asked.

"No," Miranda said, shaking her head. "There was a wide variety from major depressive disorder to schizophrenia. After things got less hectic, we went back through the other identified victims from the past century and found the same pattern, either they were on massive amounts of psychiatric medications or they were drug addicts. Our latest victim was being treated for major depressive disorder. He was on a number of medications."

Jack stood up. "Gwen? Will? I need you two to coordinate all our prior information. No one's tried to paint the picture before so now we have to. Fish, I want you and Ianto to go through the CCTV footage. I think that it may have spooked the Weevil you two were chasing."

"Great I really want to be looking for something that managed to spook a Weevil," Fish said under his breath.

"I meant what I said, people. We're not going to be back here twelve years from now doing this again," Jack said.

Ianto and Fish wandered off into the main Hub to start sifting through the CCTV footage and Gwen and Miranda began laying out the various Torchwood reports across the boardroom table. The two women set to work, reading through reports and examining photographs. They continued to read and sift through the pieces of information, both of them growing more and more frustrated. Most of the reports were shoddy and half written or not written at all, consisting just of photographs and a date. Some of them didn't even have the location where the body was found. Miranda had felt her temper flare when she'd found a letter Samuel Aubrey had attached to her autopsy report. _Bloody twat…_ It detailed how he felt the autopsy was unnecessary and that it wasted valuable time and resources. She was about to crumple the letter and toss it away when a noise brought her head up. Gwen had slammed the report she was reading down onto the table.

"What a bag of wank," she snapped. "Some of these reports are useless."

"Jack and I didn't have time to go over the old reports twelve years ago. All we did was look at the victim names and did some quick background checking," Miranda said, frustrated as well. "I had no idea they were such a bloody mess."

She pushed the letter Aubrey had written towards Gwen who picked it up and started reading. Her eyes growing wide at first and then narrowing further and further with anger.

"What a bloody twat!" she snapped, crumpling the paper and tossing it into the bin. "I can't believe things were really so different before."

"Jack runs a very different ship, Gwen. It's a good change," Miranda said. "It's one of the reasons I've floated in and out. Usually I've left because I couldn't take the uphill battle anymore. Aubrey was the reason I left in eighty eight."

"That was the same year the bodies started, was that why?" Gwen asked, pointing over her shoulder at the bin.

"I wish it was," Miranda said with a rueful shake of her head. She was a bit offended that Gwen thought she'd do something so petulant as to leave Torchwood over a note attached to her autopsy report. Then again Gwen didn't know she'd just read it for the first time. "I left because of what happened to Sarah Trowbridge. She was a Torchwood agent who died in the line of duty around Christmas of that year."

"Were you two lovers?" Gwen asked.

"No, just friends" Miranda said, suppressing an eye roll. Gwen always assumed that she and Jack had shagged everyone who'd ever worked for Torchwood. "To Samuel Aubrey the team members were expendable. An alien artefact had fallen through the rift at an abandoned warehouse, some sort of fuel rod. Its casing was cracked and it was leaking radiation. Jack and I were doing a different artefact retrieval… something that could have waited. Instead of calling us and waiting, Aubrey ordered Sarah to place the radiation sponges around the rod."

Gwen knew about the radiation sponges. There were half a dozen available for Torchwood's use. They had no idea how they worked but they soaked up any radiation greater than high ultraviolet. They'd been found in the early seventies, part of the cargo of a crashed ship. Gwen's already large eyes went wide with anger and shock. For the sponges to work, they had to be positioned near the radiation source.

"She'd have to be exposed to properly place them!" she exclaimed.

"There were no civilians in the area. Jack and I were only minutes away," Miranda shook her head, angrily. "Sarah received a lethal dose. She died nineteen days later."

"Why did she do it?" Gwen asked. It sounded to Gwen as if the woman had blatantly thrown away her life for nothing.

"Aubrey lied to her. He told her the danger was greater than it was. In truth, he was worried about his own hide. He didn't want to be exposed so he sacrificed her to save himself," Miranda said.

"That bastard!" Gwen said, eyes wide. She wasn't a doctor but she knew radiation poisoning was a horrific and agonising way to die.

"A death easily preventable by waiting for me and Jack," Miranda said, ruefully.

"Man like that always gets his comeuppance," Gwen said, reaching for another folder.

"He did," Miranda said. "Me."

When Miranda had joined the team four years ago, Gwen had been resistant. It had felt too much like they were replacing Tosh and Owen. Even though Miranda and Gwen were now friends, there was something that had sometimes felt off to Gwen about Miranda. She'd never been able to put her finger on it until two years ago while Gwen had watched on helplessly as Miranda had put a bullet into the head of a ten year old boy possessed by an alien consciousness. The immortal woman hadn't blinked or even hesitated. She'd just aimed and pulled the trigger. It was right at that moment Gwen knew what had felt off about Miranda. The two women went shopping and drooled over the latest shoes. They watched romantic films and giggled over wine together. But Gwen never forgot precisely what her friend was - a stone cold killer.

Gwen sat back and continued to work. If Aubrey had indeed become the victim of Miranda's wrath, then Gwen didn't want to know his fate. While Gwen shuddered inwardly, Miranda was lost in the memory of what had happened the day Sarah Trowbridge had died. The woman insisted on fighting but Miranda had run the numbers, there was no hope. When Sarah had finally slipped into a coma, Miranda had administered a lethal dosage of anaesthetic, putting an end to the woman's suffering. Miranda hadn't bothered with an autopsy. Sarah Trowbridge had been violated enough. She washed Sarah's body, dressed her in white scrubs and laid her to rest in a morgue drawer. She'd left a note for Jack in their rooms and had packed a few of her things. She'd stalked Aubrey back to his flat and gained entry under the guise of seduction. She'd incapacitated him easily, dragging him to a sewer entrance near a known Weevil nest. Once Aubrey had woken, Miranda had buried her dagger into his belly, spilling his intestines. She'd watched, crouched at the base of a tree, as the Weevils had descended upon him, dragging him kicking and screaming into the sewer. She'd left Cardiff that night. It'd been the start of her longest stretch away from Torchwood, twelve years. She hadn't returned until the millennium, after Alex Hopkins had left Jack the last man standing.

Miranda flipped through a few more photographs and then let out a frustrated growl. "There isn't even a reference scale on most of these photographs, Goddess below! I knew that most of the Torchwood leaders didn't see the point in investigating these deaths but I had no idea the rest of the team felt that way too. Probably happy for an excuse to skive off. There was a lot of that back then."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, flipping through another report.

"Torchwood has always attracted the adrenaline junkie. A lot of the people who worked here wanted the interesting stuff, the simple things like Weevils and Blowfish didn't interest them so they couldn't be arsed with it," Miranda said with a shrug and rubbed at her eyes. "If they didn't think an artefact was something useful or interesting, they didn't bother trying to identify it. There was just too much other work. Something like this? Where we already knew what was going on just got shoved aside."

Ianto walked into the boardroom, carrying a small sack. "I hope you ladies don't mind, I took the liberty of ordering sandwiches from that new shop."

"Lunchtime already?" Gwen said, looking at her watch.

"Actually, this is a late lunch, it's nearly half two," Ianto said as he distributed the food.

Miranda uttered an ancient curse and Gwen and Ianto looked at her strangely. The immortal woman dug her mobile out of her pocket and saw four missed calls and several texts. She stood up and started to walk towards the boardroom door but then stopped, turned around and sat back down.

"Everything all right Miranda?" Gwen asked, a little amused at Miranda's abortive exit as she bit into her sandwich.

"A friend of mine is visiting, I was supposed to pick him up at the train station a half hour ago but it seems his flight was cancelled. He's not arriving until tomorrow," she said as she started to unwrap her sandwich. "So, yes, everything is fine now."

Ianto and Gwen both chuckled a little as Jack walked into the boardroom. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his lover. "Ianto? I thought we were having lunch together."

"Sorry, Jack, I got side tracked," Ianto said, following Jack out of the boardroom.

The two women watched the lovers leave, Jack giving Ianto a playful slap on the arse as they walked away.

"Why do I get the feeling that those two will be doing anything but eating?" Gwen asked with a shake of her head.

"Oh they'll be eating all right," Miranda said, "just not food."

The two women dissolved into a fit of giggles. They'd both pushed aside their work, taking a break so they could eat. Gwen watched as Miranda was examining her sandwich. She'd already taken a bite but was disassembling it.

"Something wrong?" Gwen asked, smiling a little.

"I thought I tasted a pepper," Miranda said.

"What's wrong with peppers?" The immortal woman wasn't usually picky about her food.

"Nothing, I just don't think they belong on a bacon sandwich," Miranda said. Unable to find the offending vegetable, she put the sandwich back together and continued eating.

"So spill, who's this bloke?" Gwen asked. "Someone you're seeing?"

"Hardly," Miranda said, laughing slightly at the idea.

"Are you seeing someone?" Gwen asked lightly.

"Why so interested in my love life, Gwen?" Miranda asked, peeking into her sandwich again.

Gwen sipped at her coffee and tilted her head a little. "We're all a bit worried about you, Miranda."

"What? Why?" she asked, confused. She opened up the small crisp bag and offered it to Gwen, who took a few.

"Ever since you and Nora broke up-"

"Stop right there, Gwen," Miranda snapped. She dropped her sandwich onto the paper plate and wiped her mouth.

"That maternal tone may work with the boys, Miranda, but it won't work on me," Gwen scolded. "You've been sulking. We've all noticed. It's not good for you, sweetheart. It's been months."

_Four months, two weeks and three days…_ Miranda thought ruefully. She didn't answer Gwen, she just picked up her coffee and drank it down in a few gulps.

"Don't you dare think about bolting from this room, Miranda Ryan!" Gwen said in her own maternal bellow. "We know you miss her, sweetheart, but you don't need to go through this alone. We're your friends."

"There's nothing you can do, Gwen. I just need time," she said. Miranda balled up her paper napkin and tossed it onto the table.

Gwen smiled and said, "You know, Rhys has this mate-"

"No, Gwen," Miranda snapped. "I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to help."

She was trying to be patient with Gwen but the last thing she wanted was to end up on blind date after blind date with Gwen and Rhys's single friends and acquaintances. The former PC regularly played matchmaker with Fish and Miranda swore that she set Fish up on a date every month. Miranda had no idea where Gwen found all these women. Given Miranda's preferences, there would be a wider selection of men and gay women for Gwen to chose from. Miranda found herself dreading it already.

"You're pining, sweetheart," Gwen said. "It's not healthy."

With a frustrated sigh, Miranda asked, "Why isn't it healthy, Gwen?"

The question caught Gwen completely off guard. "Because it just isn't."

"But why, Gwen? Go on, explain it to me," Miranda said, patiently.

"Because it's a waste of time-"

'Exactly, Gwen. You think it's a waste of time," Miranda said, trying not to sound condescending. "I have nothing but time."

Gwen furrowed her brow and gave Miranda a hard look. "After Owen and Tosh, I was in a bad way. I was sad all the time and it just turned into the way things were. I forgot what it was like to be happy. Just because you have plenty of time to waste brooding over Nora doesn't mean you should. It only took me a few weeks to forget what happy felt like. What if you go around sulking for a hundred years?"

Most of the time Miranda wanted to rip Gwen's bleeding heart right out of her chest and beat her with it. But Gwen did have a point. She always had this simplistic way of putting things into perspective for Miranda. Miranda hadn't realised how lonely she was until Nora had stepped into her life. Now that their relationship was over, Miranda was painfully aware of how solitary her existence was. She had spent a great deal of her life alone, sometimes going decades without a relationship and maybe Gwen was right, that wasn't healthy. Still, she had no desire to be part of Gwen's matchmaking efforts.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet, Gwen," Miranda said, reaching across the boardroom table for another folder.

"Well, think about it," Gwen said, reaching for another folder as well. "He's a nice bloke, Rhys's friend."

Miranda said, "All right, Gwen, I'll think about it… Maybe after this is all over and done with."

Gwen beamed. "I'll call him."

Miranda suppressed a groan. _I should just get 'sucker' tattooed on my forehead… _


	4. Chapter 4

After two days of pouring through CCTV footage, Fish and Ianto were both bleary eyed. After the first day, Jack had stepped in so that Ianto could search through the archives for anything similar. Gwen and Miranda had found nothing solid. Their geographic profile had turned up nothing useful, the bodies had turned up all over the city with no distinct pattern the two women could determine. They all kept at it but they had all resigned themselves to the fact that another body would turn up in two days. As terrible as it sounded, it would be their best lead.

Jack had sent everyone home to recharge and start fresh in the morning, so Ianto decided to make good on his offer to buy Fish a pint. The two men decided to splurge, heading to the Tempus at Tides Bar in the posh St. David's hotel. They'd sat talking and laughing for a while, and by the time they were on their third round, Fish decided to seize the opportunity to broach a subject that had been weighing on his mind a bit.

"Ianto, can I ask you something?" Fish asked.

After sipping his beer, Ianto said, "Sure."

"It's kind of personal."

"Okay…" Ianto said as his expression became a little strange.

The two of them were seated at the end of the bar, fairly out of earshot of the rest of the customers, but Fish reached into his pocket and took out his mobile. He activated a program of alien origin he'd modified for the team's use. The program cancelled the noise for a metre radius around the phone, assuring they couldn't be overheard. Miranda had dubbed the program 'Muffliato' after a noise canceling spell from Harry Potter. It turns out that modern pop music wasn't Miranda's only guilty pleasure. The four thousand year old woman was a serious Harry Potter fanatic. Fish and Ianto, great lovers of the novels themselves, often liked to drop obscure references to the books and then tease the immortal woman relentlessly when she understood them.

Ianto raised his eyebrow a bit when he saw Fish activate the program. Fish didn't know how to begin. He hadn't really thought this out at all. He'd been wanting to get Ianto alone for a few months to have this conversation but had never managed to find the right time or enough courage.

"You and Jack…" Fish blurted. "I'm just trying to understand. I know you had girlfriends before…"

"Oh, we're having the gay conversation," Ianto said with a laugh. In truth, he was surprised Fish hadn't brought this up sooner. He'd known the man for going on three years now.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Fish said, misinterpreting Ianto's amusement and returning to his own drink.

"Nah, mate, it's fine," Ianto said, trying to put his friend at ease. "Why are you asking?"

"I've never been with a bloke and…" he trailed off, looking into his glass, not knowing how to finish his thought.

Ianto smirked a little. He thought Fish was going to ask him about Jack 'turning him gay' or some other such nonsense. He hadn't expected curiosity on the part of his friend. Even with the noise killing phone, Ianto was surprised Fish was having this conversation out in public and with only three beers in him. "You've never been attracted to a man?"

"No, never… I mean… there's nothing wrong…" Fish trailed off, burying his face in his hands. This conversation was disastrous. He picked up his head again, still unable to even look in Ianto's direction. Instead he downed the rest of his beer and signaled the bartender for another. After it arrived, he began again.

"I'm just… erm… I'm just wondering if I'm missing out on something…" Fish trailed off, again, not knowing what to say. More and more, Fish wondered if he was, in fact, missing out on something in life and life at Torchwood was painfully short to be missing out on anything. Although it had all started out as mere sexual curiosity, it wasn't the only motivation behind Fish's decision to talk to Ianto. Every day, Fish saw the way Jack and Ianto looked at each other and the way the two men interacted. Fish had never seen a couple so in love before.

"Before Jack? I never thought about it," the younger man confided. After Fish had started working for Torchwood, Ianto had indulged Jack a little and the two men had invited the Australian to their bed. Fish had politely refused, professing heterosexuality. He was from a slightly older generation than Ianto and a little less flexible when it came to 'dancing' as Jack had put it.

"So you're not gay."

"I don't think of myself that way but Jack would make a comment about our quaint little categories and Mandy about our modern need to label," Ianto said with a shake of his head, taking a good gulp of his beer. "I don't know how to explain it. It's just different. It's not men. It's just him."

"If it isn't men and it's just Jack, why did the two of you ask me to… errm…" he trailed off again, blushing furiously.

"Dance?" Ianto asked, amused at Fish's embarrassment.

"Good a euphemism as any, I suppose."

"It was more Jack's invitation than mine. He thought I'd enjoy the experience," Ianto said with a one shouldered shrug and then looked a little embarrassed himself. He understood Fish's confusion. It wasn't dissimilar to what he had gone through after catching a pterodactyl in a warehouse. "We didn't mean to confuse you, Fish."

"You didn't, mate, honestly," Fish said, holding out his hand to emphasize the point. "I just wonder… I mean, what's it like?"

"What? The sex?" Ianto asked.

"Among other things," Fish asked, blushing scarlet.

"If you have questions about the sex, Fish, you should talk to Jack," Ianto said, "but he won't understand the rest of it. When Jack is from is different. It's a totally different way of thinking when it comes to sex. It's straight forward and direct without all the boundaries we have in our time. Jack's been in our century longer than his own but he still doesn't understand."

"It's not just the sex, Ianto. I see you and Jack together… how in love you two are…" Fish trailed off shrugging his shoulders. "And I wonder if Jack's right, that I'm being narrow minded and there's more out there for me."

"Did you ever end up going to that club?"

"Wow? Yeah, it was a disaster. I went on a Saturday," Fish said with an eye roll. "That place is a meat market. I walked in, had one drink, had about a dozen blokes try to get down my trousers and then walked right back out again."

Ianto couldn't help but chuckle a little. He and Jack went to the club on occasion to enjoy some dancing and flirtatious fun. Though it's not their goal, the two of them could easily go home with any number of men.

"Look, mate, it's great that you're opening your mind to new things but don't force yourself into something that isn't for you because Jack keeps calling us all narrow minded and twenty-first century. He doesn't get it," Ianto said with a sigh. "That said, relationships are relationships, regardless of the gender of the people involved."

"I'm not thinking the grass is greener, mate. Okay maybe I am a little, but there've been a few blokes who've shown an interest and I'm wondering if maybe I could've missed out on something special by brushing someone off because they were a bloke," Fish said, crossing his arms over his chest. "'Of all the words of mice and men the saddest are - it might have been.'"

"You can always come talk to me, I know this isn't an easy thing but keeping an open mind doesn't mean you have to go chasing after something," Ianto said, twisting a little in his chair.

Fish nodded and then looked into his beer. He tilted the glass back and forth, watching the foam cling to the side in its random pattern. "Thanks, Ianto."

Ianto rested a hand on Fish's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"I best knock off before I can't," Ianto said. "You want me to call you a taxi?"

"Nah, mate, think I'm going to finish this one off and try my luck," Fish said, jerking his head at the bar. "You all right to drive?"

"I'm going to walk back to the Hub. It's not far," Ianto said reaching for his coat.

"Going to go let Jack take advantage of you, eh?" Fish joked.

Ianto smirked and then deadpanned, "Usually it's the other way round."

"Christ, Ianto," Fish laughed, blushing furiously.

"Sorry, mate, you're an easy target sometimes," Ianto said with a laugh. Despite Fish's curious inquiries, the Australian often blushed when Jack and Ianto quipped about their sex lives and Ianto enjoyed teasing him about it. "See you tomorrow. You, me, and some more CCTV footage."

"Night, Ianto," he said, turning back to his own beer.

After Ianto had gone, Fish looked down at his own watch. It was still early and he wondered if he could manage to pull but there were few singles. Most of the people mulling about the bar were couples or people waiting for a table at the restaurant. He was seriously considering moving on to another bar but pulling in a hotel bar was a convenient prospect. Although, given which hotel he was at, it was also an expensive prospect. He was also mulling over simply heading home for a decent night's sleep.

Fish turned back to the bar when the bartender asked, "Can I get you another, sir?"

"No, thanks, I'm good for now," Fish said, his glass a little less than half full. The bartender nodded and was about to move off but the man in the seat to Fish's left got up. He was immediately replaced with a newcomer, wheeling a case in one hand and his coat and scarf folded over his free arm. The bartender turned his attention to the new customer.

"What can I get for you, sir?" Fish heard the bartender ask.

"Penderyn peated on the rocks, please," the man said, his English accent straight off of the BBC.

Curious since the man had ordered a Welsh whiskey, Fish twisted in his chair to get a look at the newcomer. He was shockingly young, at most, in his mid twenties. Fish thought in different clothes, this young man could easily pass for a teenager but the pin stripped charcoal suit made him appear a bit older. The long wavy hair was light brown and reached down to his ears, making him look even younger. He was incredibly handsome with a regal face, square jaw and rugged features. It wasn't just the young man's face that Fish found regal, the man carried himself like a king, his back straight, his shoulders back, his chin parallel to the floor. Fish was intrigued by this handsome young man. His carriage and demeanour were completely incongruous to his youthful appearance. He'd deposited the case at his feet and was arranging his coat and scarf over the back of his chair. He appeared to either have just arrived or to just be leaving town. Fish found himself inexplicably hoping that it wasn't leaving. He shook off the perplexing feeling.

"Shall I start you a tab, sir?" the bartender asked.

The man shook his head, handing over his room key. "Charge it to my room, please."

"Of course, sir, can I get you anything else?"

"Nothing for now, thank you."

_Just arriving then_, Fish thought, again confused at the slightly hopeful feeling that he had. He shook it off again and turned back to his own drink. After a few moments, he heard the sound of ice being swirled around in a glass and heard the young man mutter, "Ah, anaesthesia."

"George Bernard Shaw," Fish blurted without thinking.

The younger man turned to Fish, with a raised eyebrow and a warm smile. "Yes. 'Alcohol is the anaesthesia by which we endure the operation of life' or in my case, the operation of Heathrow."

Fish laughed and saluted the other man with his drink. He had no idea why but he felt a bit nervous.

"Australia or New Zealand?" the young man asked.

"Australia. You're English?"

The young man nodded. "Are you on holiday?"

"Nah, I live here," Fish said. "Just out for a pint."

The young man extended his hand, a friendly smile on his face. "Henry."

"Joe," Fish said as he took the other man's hand, shaking it firmly. He tried, again, to shake off the butterflies in his stomach at the other man's touch. "What brings you to Wales, Henry?"

"A short stop to visit a friend before I return to London for business," he said, sipping his whiskey. "My flight was extremely delayed."

"The joys of travel," Fish said with a laugh and then drank more of his beer. "What sort of business are you in?"

"I'm an artist," the young man said. "And yourself?"

Fish's eyes widened a little with surprise. The man must be quite successful, the suit he was wearing was expensive. He took another sip off of his beer. Maybe he was imagining things but he could swear that this young man was eyeing him, the smile on his lips had turned from warm and friendly to slightly hopeful.

"Engineering - technologies and such," Fish said, giving his usual cover story.

The bartender returned and said, "Another beer, sir?"

"Yes, please," Fish said.

"Let me get that for you," the young man said.

"You don't have to do that," Fish said with a nervous chuckle.

"No, I insist," Henry said, nodding to the bartender who moved off to get Fish his drink.

"Thank you. You always buy drinks for random strangers?" Fish said.

"You're very welcome," Henry said, "and not all random strangers can spot a quote of George Bernard Shaw with a single word."

Fish was wondering if he was misreading the look Henry was giving him or the flirtatious tone. Henry had turned in his seat to face Fish, leaning a little into his personal space. Fish hadn't misread the look at all, Henry was interested in him and Fish had to admit the interest was mutual. There was something about this young man that was pulling Fish in like gravity. He still hadn't been able to shake off the butterflies in his stomach and he felt a bit like a schoolboy with a crush. Henry glanced at his watch and then flashed Fish another friendly smile and said, "Have you eaten yet? I was about to order something."

_Bit young for me… Keep an open mind… _Fish said to himself and was about to accept the invitation. After nearly ten years of university studying chemistry, Fish knew chemistry when he saw it. This youth seemed to have an air of maturity and mystery about him. He turned in his seat and for the first time since he'd met this stranger, Fish got a glimpse of Henry's left hand around his glass… the left hand with a wedding ring on its ring finger. He stared at it for a moment, feeling a little angry and not more than a bit disappointed at the situation and this young man. He frowned deeply and said, "Umm, I have actually."

Henry looked confused for a moment and then followed Fish's gaze. He opened his mouth to speak but the bartender had returned with Fish's beer, placing it down in front of him and removing the empty glass.

"Can I get you anything else, sirs?" he asked, politely.

"Not just yet thank you," Henry said, turning towards the bartender.

Fish took the opportunity to start to get up out of his seat and reach into his back pocket for his wallet. Fish had principles and morals and they didn't include having some sort of tryst with a married man. After the bartender had moved back down the bar, he felt Henry's hand on his arm. Fish looked down at the hand and Henry immediately removed it, twisting the ring on his finger a little. "I'm not married, Joe. I'm widowed."

"I'm sorry," Fish said, feeling his foot in his mouth a little and pity in his heart. Henry looked far too young to be a widower. He would've been more inclined to believe it was a lie if Henry had said he was divorced but Fish believed him. He'd heard that tone of voice far too often out of Miranda and Jack to not know when someone was genuine about losing a loved one.

"Don't be," Henry said with a slight smile that started out sad but turned hopeful. He reached out and brushed his fingers across the back of Fish's hand. "You've dined tonight already, so perhaps, another time?"

Fish tossed a quizzical look at the young man. "Aren't I a bit old for you?"

To his surprise, Henry laughed and said, "I'm older than I look."

Fish smiled and shook his head as he sat back down. He liked this man and he honestly didn't want to leave. _I must be mad…_ "I guess I could eat…"

"Delightful," Henry said and signaled the bartender as Fish sat back down in his seat.

"What can I get for you, sirs?" the bartender asked.

"Welsh rarebit for myself," Henry said.

"Just a house salad for me, please, vinaigrette dressing," Fish said.

While they waited for their food, Henry turned to Fish and asked, "What brought you to Wales, Joe? Do you have family here?"

"My parents have both passed on but my younger sister, Anna and her family are still in Perth," Fish said. "I came here for my work."

"It must be difficult, being so far from her," Henry said.

"We talk as often as we can. She teaches primary school," Fish said, digging for a picture in his phone. "I haven't seen her in a few years."

"Lovely family," Henry said as he passed back the phone.

"Thanks," Fish said, stowing it in his back pocket.

Just as the bartender left their food, Fish felt his phone begin to vibrate.

"Bugger," he said under his voice, looking at the caller ID. It was Miranda. "Excuse me. Hello? One sec, Evie. I'm sorry, I have to take this, it's my boss."

Henry nodded and smiled, chewing on his toast.

"Sorry, Evie, go ahead… St. David's… No, I'm not pissed," he said with an eye roll as he got up and stepped out of Henry's earshot. "Okay, I have had a few, I was out with Ianto… Right… I'll be right in… Yup, see you in a bit."

He disconnected the call with a sigh. He started digging his wallet out of his back pocket as he walked back to where Henry was sitting. Fish felt terrible, he hadn't even touched his salad or the beer Henry had bought for him. "I'm sorry, I've got to go. Work."

To Fish's relief, Henry didn't ask any more questions, he just laid his hand over Fish's to stop him from taking the notes out of his wallet. Fish felt himself react to the contact more strongly this time. His breath hitched and he had to stop himself from turning his hand to hold Henry's.

"Please, Joe, it's on me… especially if I can have the pleasure of your company again."

Fish coloured a bit. Feeling like a cliche, he reached across the bar for a cocktail napkin. He was about to signal the bartender to ask for a pen, when Henry produced one from his pocket. Fish hastily scrawled his mobile number onto the napkin with his name and held it out to Henry.

Henry stood up and took the napkin from Fish, settling his hand over Fish's and letting it linger there. Fish stared at Henry's hand and then looked up to see Henry staring at him, the moment stretching between them. Fish wanted to kiss him and that realisation and all the implications that went with it brought him back to reality. He gave himself a stern mental shake.

"Good night, Joe," Henry said, smiling broadly. "I look forward to seeing you again."

"Me too. Good night," Fish said.

He stood there for a few moments, staring into Henry's green eyes. Finally, he tore his gaze away, stuffed his wallet back into his back pocket and walked away, pausing at the lobby entrance to look back and was a little more than pleased to see Henry watching him leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Fish took the invisible lift down into the Hub, still feeling a bit tipsy. He probably shouldn't have driven. The local police would have loved nothing more than to drag one of Torchwood's own down to the station for a DUI charge. Not only would the team never hear the end of it from the local police but he would never hear the end of it from the rest of the team. Gwen enjoyed making Ianto blush furiously whenever she randomly mentioned the word 'peppermint'. After a whole year, Fish finally got enough courage to ask about the inside joke. Miranda's predecessor, Doctor Owen Harper, had had to bail out Ianto and Jack for lewd behaviour in public. Gwen said it involved Bute Park and a pair of handcuffs but Gwen had mentioned nothing about peppermint. Fish had no idea what peppermint had to do with it and had decided he didn't want to know.

When he got to the main Hub floor, he hopped off the paving stone. Miranda was waiting for him.

"What's going on, Evie?" he asked.

"I'm sorry to call you in, Fish," Miranda said, "But there's been another body and Gwen is at her in-laws so you were closer."

"What?" Fish said, surprised. "It's too early! We only found the first body two days ago."

"I know, this one is two days early," she said. "Jack and I are going to check it out but I'd like for you to coordinate for us from here. Ianto is getting the autopsy bay set up."

"Right, got it," Fish said as he settled down at his workstation and put his comm unit into his ear. "Where am I looking?"

"Grangetown again. It's close to where we found the other body, the corner of Corporation and Penarth," she said as she disappeared down the hallway to the garage with Jack.

Fish started clicking and typing to bring up the relevant CCTV feeds. He brought up one window with the current feed. He saw the local police had roped off the area and a crowd of the curious had gathered beyond the police barricade. It would take Miranda and Jack only minutes to drive out there and Fish set to work. The angle of the body's location was favorable and Fish was hopeful he'd find something. Penarth and Corporation was a big five way intersection, there were plenty of cameras for him to look at. After locating an appropriate angle, he started backing up the footage.

The poor man who'd been attacked had wandered from down the street, probably from the Chinese take away restaurant since the bag was laying next to his body. Fish backed the footage up to see if the camera had caught the actual attack and it had. Fish sat back and watched.

"Talk to us, Fish," came Jack's voice through his comm unit.

"I'm looking at the attack now. We have a lot of good angles here," he said. "Give me a few minutes."

"Got it, we're nearly there," Jack said.

The young man was standing at the corner, waiting for the traffic light to change, the bag of Chinese take away in his hands. Fish watched as a young girl walked up behind him. She was dressed provocatively and Fish thought she looked like a prostitute. Her ripped purple shirt was hanging off of one shoulder and if the neck was any lower, her nipple would have been exposed. The black miniskirt was so short that Fish could see the bottom of the girl's arse. Fish estimated her to be nothing more than a teenager. She was long and lanky, her arms and legs long and thin. She was nearly as tall as the victim. The girl stepped behind the man very close into the man's personal space. He turned and gave the girl an odd look but dismissed her. When he turned away, Fish watched as the girl leaned forward, almost as if she were sniffing at the back of the man's neck.

At that point, the young man took offence, turning to glare at the girl angrily. She snapped her hand up, long fingers grasping at the back of the man's neck. Fish watched on in horror as she opened her mouth unnaturally wide. A long thin tentacle flew out of her mouth and, whiplike, it smacked against the back of the man's head who screamed and tried to flee, blood pouring down his neck. The moment the man turned, the tentacle straightened, stabbing at the back of the man's head and he froze in place. It only took minutes before the tentacle was retracted and the man crumpled to the ground. The girl closed her mouth and walked away.

Fish swallowed on a dry throat. _Great killer teenagers_… He looked back to the live feed and saw the SUV.

"Jack, the alien looks like a young teenage girl, tall and very skinny. She's wearing…" Fish's voice trailed off as he looked at the live feed. He stood up, his chair skittering backwards as he shouted, "JACK! SHE'S IN THE CROWD! YOUR FOUR O'CLOCK! She's wearing a ripped purple shirt hanging off one shoulder and a black mini-skirt."

The two immortals didn't hesitate. They'd both heard the description. Jumping out of the SUV, they turned and looked. Miranda caught sight of her first and started to walk briskly towards the crowd of on-lookers. Jack started to circle around to the side in case the alien made an attempt at escape.

When she approached the barricade, she waved the police constable off and turned to the young girl. Fish was right, she was tall and extremely skinny. No one would notice the strangeness about her was alien, but the Torchwood team had been staring at aliens for too long. She was tall but her arms and legs were disproportionately long compared to the rest of her body as was her neck.

"Miss? Could you come with me please?" she asked politely, flashing her credentials. The bystanders next to her started to back away, distancing themselves from the girl.

"You're not in any sort of trouble, we just want to ask you some questions," Miranda said, flashing a friendly smile.

The young girl made as if to step towards her and then let out an unearthly howl-like shriek. She turned and fled.

"JACK! GO!" Miranda shouted as she leapt over the barricade and after the alien. She saw Jack out of the corner of her eye. With his coat tails flapping, he ran after the alien girl. He'd chosen a good position, he was right on her heels… but the distance between them was widening slowly.

Several of the police mulling about saw the two Torchwood agents in pursuit and attempted to give chase as well but they quickly fell behind the pace of the alien and the two immortals. The alien was fast, the long thin legs propelling her at an incredible speed. Miranda gritted her teeth and pushed her body to its limits as she ran, the wind singing in her ears. In almost no time at all, she'd caught up to Jack who had a significant head start and the two ran side by side trying to catch up to the alien, panting heavily. Almost as soon as Miranda caught up to Jack, the other immortal started to lose ground, dropping back and Miranda could feel the burn in her own muscles. Knowing that his strength was fading, Jack drew his gun and fired off a few shots in a last ditch effort but he missed. Jack was still running but he'd now fallen behind Miranda, the distance between them widening. She knew couldn't keep this pace up for long. They had already passed the river and were now nearly a kilometre from where the chase had started. Miranda knew that soon, her hands would start to shake and that she too would begin to slow. If she was going to make a move, it had to be now.

Miranda had only two options, her gun or the finger blades in her belt and she was a terrible shot. Panting, she slid one of the finger blades from her belt. They weren't designed for throwing and weren't balanced for it but she had to try something or they'd lose her. She carefully altered her strides, trying to smooth out her motion. She lifted the blade, took aim and threw the blade as hard as she could. The force of the throw unbalanced her and she went tumbling to the ground. Her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, keeping her eyes on the alien. Even though she'd been aiming for the creature's back, luck was with her and the blade landed low in the alien's thigh, nearly behind the knee and she went crashing down.

Wheezing and coughing, Miranda dragged herself to her feet as the scrapes on her knees, elbows and hands healed themselves with their usual speed. The cold night air had burned at her lungs. She staggered over to the alien girl who wasn't even out of breath. Still panting, Miranda bent to roll the alien over and the girl opened her mouth, the long tentacle flying out towards Miranda's head and she barely dodged it, falling backwards onto the pavement. The girl let out the same unearthly howl like shriek, the tentacle whipping out at Miranda as she dodged and rolled out of the way. The tentacle grazing her hand as Miranda instinctively reached to draw her sword. The next whiplike movement of the tentacle was its last. Miranda swung the blade, cutting the end off the tentacle as the alien let out an ear piercing shriek, coughing and sputtering blackish blood. It fell backwards onto the ground, clutching and clawing at its throat, hissing strangely.

Just then Jack came up behind her, panting heavily. He handed Miranda the plastic restraints and then bent forward, his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Miranda, still panting herself, rolled the alien onto its belly, securing her arms behind her back with the restraints. Jack staggered over to the fallen piece of tentacle as he removed his handkerchief from his pocket. He used it to pick the tentacle up.

"Oh, man," Jack said. "Now we have to walk back to the SUV… You don't have an evidence bag on you do you, Will?"

"No, I don't, Jack," she said, still breathing heavily. She tapped her comm unit to activate it. "Fish could you get one of the local police to drive up Penarth road to pick us up? Tell Ianto that I'm going to have them take the body back with them and to ready a cell. We can pick it up later. Jack and I will be back at the Hub shortly."

Fish, who had watched the entire pursuit, said with a laugh, "Sure, Evie. And remind me to never go running with you."

Miranda chuckled and said, "A mistake Ifan has already made."


	6. Chapter 6

Fish settled back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes a bit. Jack and Miranda still weren't back and Fish was in the middle of his clean up efforts. Everything needed to be deleted or forged with the CCTV. Right now he was in the middle of forging CCTV footage to make Michael Howard's alien murder look like a mugging gone wrong. He stifled a yawn and looked at his watch. It was well past one in the morning. He rubbed at his eyes and got up to get himself some coffee.

"You should go home, Fish," Ianto said as he came out of the autopsy bay. "The clean up can wait until tomorrow."

"I wanted to wait until Evie and Jack got back, congratulate them. This one's been sitting on their backs for a long time," Fish said. "I'm surprised they didn't tell us about it."

"They knew it was going to start up again, they just didn't know when. They didn't want to worry you or Gwen. The only reason I know about it is because I work the archives," Ianto said with a shrug. "They should have been back by now."

Fish tapped his comm unit. "Evie? Jack? What's your ETA?"

There was no response and Fish walked back over to his workstation and activated the SUV's GPS unit. "It's in the garage."

"Strange," Ianto said.

Just as Fish was about to bring up the garage's CCTV footage but Miranda and Jack came out of the hallway. The two immortals were alone and looked completely disheveled, more so than could be explained by their foot chase.

"Go home, Fish. I don't want to see you here before lunch," Jack said, in a clipped tone, as he followed Miranda into the autopsy bay. "The alien's still in the SUV. We'll take care of it in a minute."

Ianto and Fish looked at each other. The two men shrugged and Fish collected his things and headed for the door. Something was amiss but he wasn't one to question Jack when he used that tone of voice. Perhaps the two immortals had had a row. That was certainly common enough.

Concerned, Ianto headed for the autopsy bay and saw Miranda had just finished drawing a vial of blood from herself and was preparing to draw one from Jack. There was a bruise fading from Miranda's cheek and neck. The one on her neck looked distinctively like a love bite. Furrowing his brow with confusion, Ianto descended the stairs and that was when he noticed the smell. Unsure he was smelling what he thought he was, Ianto flared his nostrils and took a deeper breath and then smothered a grin.

The needle out of his arm, Jack hopped off the autopsy table. He scooped up a syringe of sedative and said, "I'm going to get that thing in here so you can take a look at it, Will. Your stun gun, Yan?"

Ianto took the stun gun from the waistband of his trousers and tossed it to Jack. As his lover walked past him, the smell intensified, following Jack like a small cloud. Ianto was starting to smirk a little as he walked towards Miranda, testing the air with his nose. She was on the far side of the bay, putting the blood tubes into the centrifuge to spin. He was standing right behind her and he leaned forward, breathing in deep, feeling his own cock twitch at the heady aroma of Jack and sex that hung around her.

"You know, Mandy, when Jack and I invited you for sex, we meant in a bed," Ianto teased with a smirk on his face. The two men had extended Miranda a few invitations to their bed over the past few months, trying to offer Miranda comfort and companionship in her loneliness but she'd always refused, her reasons unknown to them.

"Bloody alien beast sliced me with some sort of tentacle appendage, must have done something to me. It got Jack as well," she said, her voice angry. She picked up her medical kit and started arranging the sample containers. Miranda's hands were trembling and she dropped one of the containers, the glass smashing on the tile.

"Mandy, calm down," he said grabbing her arm as she went past him. He caught something else on the air, the distinctive scent of female arousal along with the scent of what Ianto could only identify as a burning fireplace. The smell went straight to his head, making him dizzy and causing blood to pool in his groin.

"Don't touch me, Ifan," she said, her shoulders trembling slightly as she bent to clean up the broken glass.

Ianto obeyed, letting go of her arm and backing away from her. The woman was exuding sex and desire from every pore. Ianto hooked his finger into his tie, loosening it slightly just as Jack appeared, wheeling the alien on the gurney. Ianto helped Jack lay the alien female down on the autopsy table and then tried to covertly adjust himself in his trousers.

Miranda went about collecting samples. "Do you recognise the species, Jack?"

"No, I'd say she's human or some sort of hybrid," Jack said with a shrug. He was standing at the top of the autopsy bay stairs, leaning against the railing. It was almost as if he was trying to keep as far from Miranda as possible. His chin was tucked against his chest. Neither immortal was meeting the other's eye.

After she'd put on a pair of thick protective gloves, Miranda dug out an oral speculum from the medical drawer. After putting on a protective face shield, she inserted it into the alien's mouth, the mouth opened unnaturally wide. Miranda pushed the tongue aside with an instrument, seeing a deep pocket beneath that was caked with the dried black blood. As she took a few more samples, Miranda said, "Ifan, could you get that scanner over here please?"

Ianto rolled the scanner towards them and Miranda let it run for a few cycles.

"That's strange. The scanner says she's human," Miranda said, adjusting the scanner and tapping on some of the settings. "I'll have to take a closer look at the readings later. For now, I'm going to do a full exam."

Miranda yanked the blade from the girl's leg, stitched and then bandaged the wound. Once the wound was taken care of, Miranda performed a full examination on the alien.

"Jack? You can take her downstairs. I'm done," she said. "Put her in one of the solid walled cells."

Jack nodded. "Yan? Give me a hand?"

"Sure, Jack," Ianto said, casting a nervous glance to Miranda.

Once the two men were gone, Miranda sat down heavily on her desk chair. She had no idea what the alien had done to her but Miranda's body was throbbing with desire. The athletic shag with Jack over the SUV's bonnet hadn't been enough. She slammed her eyes tightly shut, trying to reign her body under control. What had happened in the garage was still a blur to her. She got up and finally looked at herself in the mirror. There was little evidence of what had happened left on her body. The cuts and bruises had healed and faded. Miranda sat back down as another surge of desire welled in her chest. She took out her iPod and dug her sword out of her coat and headed down to the gym, deciding that working herself to exhaustion might reign in the lust clouding her mind.

Down in the cell block, Jack and Ianto laid the alien down on the bench in one of the solid cells. Most of the cells had a plexiglass wall with holes for ventilation but not this one. Once the two men had stepped out of the cell, Ianto shut the door and activated the ventilation system so that air would circulate. Jack turned away, running his fingers through his hair.

"What happened, Jack?" Ianto asked.

"What do you think happened, Yan?" Jack asked as he stormed off towards the stairs that led back to the main Hub.

"Is sex with Mandy something to be so angry about?" Ianto asked, genuinely confused as to why the two of them were so distraught. In fact, he couldn't understand why they weren't dragging each other off for round two or asking Ianto to join them. He could see Jack's erection, clearly straining against the cloth of the other man's trousers. The two of them had used alien sexual enhancers and aphrodisiacs before to great effect. Ianto took a few steps towards Jack, trying to tug the other man towards him. Ianto found himself hopeful for an incredible night ahead but to his utter shock, Jack pushed Ianto away from him.

"What the fuck, Jack?" Ianto snapped.

"Do you have any idea what this is like, Ianto? To have no control over what you're doing?" Jack said.

"You're in control now," Ianto said. "We've used alien enhancements before."

"This is totally different, Yan," Jack said. "It wasn't like Will and I were all hot and bothered from some alien aphrodisiac and felt like a quickie on the SUV hood. It was all a complete blur. We had zero control over what was going on."

Jack reached up and pulled his collar down. Ianto saw that the top few buttons of his shirt were missing and the button strip was ripped. He saw a large love bite on Jack's shoulder that looked as if it was only just beginning to fade along with bloody tooth marks.

"I have no idea how this happened. None. Zero," Jack said, his voice still angry. He pulled his shirt aside and Ianto saw that Jack's white t-shirt was also ripped. There was also an angry bite wound on Jack's chest next to his left nipple. "Or this. Do you have any idea how violating this feels for both of us?"

Ianto took a few steps back. He hadn't thought what had happened had been that bad. He'd thought the two of them had merely given into desire brought on by an alien influence. He had had no idea that it had been so violent. He wondered what marks had already faded and healed from both immortals' bodies.

"One minute, I was parking the SUV and the next thing I knew, I had Will bent over the SUV's hood. We were half dressed, going like rabbits. I had no idea what had happened. I didn't know if I'd…" Jack's voice cracked on the last of the sentence and he couldn't continue.

Ianto knew that neither immortal was a stranger to rape. In the beginning of their relationship, Jack had made it clear that sleeping with him wasn't a requirement of his job. Jack had been absolute in knowing that he had Ianto's full consent in everything the two men did in the bedroom. Ianto couldn't imagine the horror that must have gone through Jack when he'd come to his senses with someone he loved beneath him, not knowing what he could possibly have done. Ianto took a few steps towards his lover but Jack waved him off.

"Don't," Jack said and then moved towards one of the other cells and stepped in.

Ianto knew better than to argue and shut the cell door behind Jack. He was about to go in search of Miranda but no sooner had he turned away from the cell door than she appeared. Wordlessly, she handed her sword to Ianto and stepped into one of the cells. Ianto locked her away as well and then went back up to the main Hub. He settled himself behind his workstation and brought up the CCTV footage from the garage, almost a little frightened about what he'd see. He watched the SUV stop and Jack got out of the driver's side. Miranda actually stumbled out of the passenger side and Jack hurried around the SUV to help her, calling out her name. The minute Jack bent down to help, Miranda pounced on him. The act wasn't intimate. It was violent and manic. The two immortals were clearly not in control of their faculties as they vented the lust on each other with unrestrained fervor. He winced a few times as he watched. Ianto took a deep breath and came to a decision. He made a copy of the footage in case Jack or Miranda needed to view it and then deleted it from the system.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Ianto opened his eyes and sat up, stretching as his back protested. He'd slept in their bed many nights alone but he could never manage it when something was amiss with his lover. Jack had spent last night locked in the Torchwood cells under some alien influence so Ianto, unable to sleep in their bed, had slept on the sofa in Jack's office. Before showering and getting ready for his day, he padded barefoot through the Hub and down the east stairs towards the cells.

Jack and Miranda were still in their respective cells and, not surprising to Ianto, both awake. Neither immortal look as if they'd slept at all.

"Good morning, and how are we feeling today?" Ianto asked lightly, trying to defuse the tension.

The two of them muttered their greetings but neither made a move nor asked to be released from their cell. They knew the standard protocol. Any Torchwood agent under the influence of an alien substance or exhibiting strange behaviour was required to be locked in a cell. He or she was only allowed to leave that cell twenty four hours after the behaviour had ceased or the influence had ended. It made little sense to Ianto. There were a myriad of situations where he would have no idea whether or not either had occurred. The second portion of the protocol did make sense. Ianto was not supposed to let Jack and Miranda out of their cells while he was alone in the Hub. He was to wait for Gwen and Fish to arrive. One was to assist Ianto in releasing them and the other was to watch on the CCTV. It hadn't been twenty four hours and neither Gwen nor Fish would be in for over an hour. But Miranda and Jack had walked into the cells on their own and Ianto was not willing to share the reason for their incarceration with anyone else, even Gwen and Fish. Ianto carefully scrutinised his lover and his friend. He went around the other way and opened up Jack's cell first.

"You all right?" Ianto asked softly.

"I'm fine, Yan. You should have waited for Gwen and Fish," Jack said, stepping out of the cell.

Ianto shook his head. "They don't need to know about this, Jack."

His lover looked as if he was about to protest but instead walked past Ianto, squeezing his hand briefly as he passed. Ianto turned to Miranda's cell and unlocked it. He swung the door open and tilted his head at his friend. She was sitting cross legged on the bench in her cell. She'd taken off her shoes and they were sitting under the bench. She made no move to leave the cell.

"Mandy? You okay?" he asked. Her hesitance made him worry he'd been hasty in opening her cell.

"You're breaking protocol," she said, simply.

Ianto suppressed an eye roll. "Gwen and Fish don't need to know about this."

"I appreciate you sparing our feelings, Ifan, but the protocols exist for a reason," she said, still not getting up from the bench in the cell.

"You want me to leave you down here for another day then?" he asked, it came out harsher than he'd intended.

She shook her head and sighed. "I'm fine."

She bent over and picked up her shoes, hooking her fingers into them. When she stood up, she didn't look at Ianto as she left the cell.

"I'm sorry, Ifan," she said, as she walked past him.

"What on earth for?" he asked.

"What happened between Jack and I-"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Mandy, why are you apologising?" he said, snagging her arm. "First off, neither of you was in your right mind and second, Jack and I have both invited you into our bed before."

She nodded stiffly but said nothing.

"You all right, Mandy? And I don't mean all this," Ianto asked softly. "We're all a bit worried about you."

The troubled look on her face vanished and was replaced with impatient annoyance. "Gwen said the same. I appreciate the concern you all seem to have but I am fine."

Ianto lowered his voice and let go of her arm. "You're lonely, Mandy. Fish and Gwen see it. I can see it. Jack can see it."

"Gwen's matchmaking efforts… You and Jack's numerous invitations…" Miranda shook her head ruefully. She wondered what Fish would be coming up with or if some sort of group intervention would be next. "I just need time, Ifan."

"Why don't you stay with Jack and I tonight?" Ianto asked.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "No thank you, Ifan."

"I meant just to sleep, Mandy," Ianto said with an eye roll of his own.

She shook her head at him again. "It will only make things worse. Trust me, Ifan. I've done all this before, more times than I care to count or even remember. And this is what works best for me. The melancholy will eventually fade."

Ianto nodded and decided to let her be. He reached out for her hand and squeezed it. When he let go, he drew himself up, turning to business. "I'm going to collect the body from the police this morning. I was going to stop at the bake shop on my way back for breakfast, do you want anything special?"

She shook her head. "Surprise me. You best go check on Jack. He's most distressed this has happened again."

Ianto's eyebrows shot up. "The two of you have shagged each other silly because of aliens before?"

"No, Ifan. When I met Jack again… when we found out the truth of each other…" Miranda said, looking a bit embarrassed and then shook her head and then left him standing alone in the hallway.

She didn't have to say anything about what must have happened between them. Over past few years, Ianto had seen how Jack and Miranda interacted. He'd seen them exchange tender touches and gentle smiles but he'd also seen the explosive nature of their personalities clashing.

Jack wasn't in the bunker and Ianto assumed he was on the roof. He decided to give him his space. By the time he'd showered, dressed and returned with the body, Gwen and Fish had both arrived. Gwen immediately began liaising with the local police and Fish set about finishing his efforts towards the clean up operation. Ianto craned his neck as he wheeled the gurney with the body bag across the Hub towards the autopsy bay. He gratefully saw Jack in his office, bent over some paperwork at his desk.

When he got down to the autopsy bay, he saw Miranda was flipping through a number of blood results. As he loaded the body onto the autopsy table, he heard Miranda mutter under her breath, "Bloody alien bollocks…"

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I just got the blood results back from the samples I drew on Jack and I from last night," Miranda said. "Massive amounts of testosterone and oestrogen, significantly increased levels of endorphins as well as oxytocin. There's also some sort of alien protein in our systems that's bound to the prolactin."

"And what does all that mean in English, Mandy?" Ianto asked raising both his eyebrows. He'd barely understood half of what she'd said.

"There's a substance on that tentacle that made us aroused, manic and incapable of sexual gratification," she said, dryly.

Ianto raised both his eyebrows but said nothing as he began to set out Miranda's usual instruments.

"Fish?" Miranda called.

A few seconds later the Australian leaned over the railing. "What's up, Evie?"

"Those samples there," she said jerking her head to the tray of jars. "I need them analysed whenever you get a chance. Don't take any chances with them. Full biohazard and safety protocol. They're toxic."

"Right, got it," Fish said. "Mind if I leave them there for now?"

She shook her head and turned towards the body as Fish went back to his workstation.

"Thanks," she said as she leaned down over the body, lifting the flap covering the hole in the corpse's skull. "Ifan? Could you hand me that ruler please?"

Ianto picked up the ruler from her instrument tray and handed it to her. "What is it?"

"This wound is smaller," she said, holding the ruler up to the wound. "Nineteen millimetres…"

"That's four smaller than the other one," Ianto said. "Didn't you say the wound had been getting larger with time?"

"Just a hypothesis and a gut feeling," she said with a shake of her head. "We just don't have enough data to support it. Do me a favor, Ifan? Let Jack know we should have a team update at the end of the day."

Ianto nodded and left her to her work. He stopped in the Hub kitchen and poured Jack cup of coffee into his favourite blue and white stripped mug. He put the mug onto a tray with a few of Jack's favourite biscuits and then headed to Jack's office, closing the door behind him. After setting the tray down next to Jack, Ianto stepped round the desk, leaning against it.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Yan," Jack said, stiffly.

Reaching into his pocket, Ianto took out the USB drive with the footage he'd deleted from the CCTV. "This is the footage from the garage last night. I don't know if you and Mandy want to see it but I deleted it from the archive."

Ianto watched the shame flicker across Jack's face.

"How bad was it?" Jack asked softly.

"Not as bad as you've imagined, Cariad," Ianto said, resting his hand on Jack's shoulder.

Jack took the drive from Ianto and plugged it into his laptop. He was about to open the file when he looked up at Ianto.

"I'll give you some privacy. Mandy wants to have a briefing at the end of the day," Ianto said, kissing the top of Jack's head. "I'll be just outside if you need me."

After scrubbing at his face, Jack opened the file. He watched with his jaw clenched and his hand over his mouth, his other arm wrapped around his own chest. Once the video had finished playing, Jack slammed the laptop shut and yanked out the drive. He resisted the urge to crush the drive underneath his boot heel. _At least there was an excuse this time…_ he thought to himself. He closed his eyes against the torrent of memories.

_February 1941…_

Captain Jack Harkness strode through the streets of London, his greatcoat flapping around the rest of his RAF uniform. The snow was falling and London was reeling from The Blitz. He was wandering along the banks of the Thames near Tower Bridge, listening for the air raid sirens, lost in his own thoughts. He would be here, The Doctor, but Jack couldn't seek him out. He couldn't get the answers he needed yet. He still had to wait. _But the century will turn twice before you find each other again…_ the tarot girl had said.

That was when he saw a woman in a Women's Auxiliary Air Force uniform with killer legs. She turned her head briefly and Jack got a quick glimpse of a lovely face. He smiled and he started to follow her as she, too, walked along the Thames with her head down. Her jet black hair was pulled up into a large chignon at the nape of her neck. Jack smirked. He was having delicious thoughts of picking the pins from her hair one by one.

The wind rose up and her hat tumbled from her head, rolling down the pathway in front of her. Jack barked out a small laugh. _Perfect…_ He sprinted forward, mindful of his own greatcoat's hem. He passed the lovely woman and bent to scoop the hat up dramatically. He held the hat in his hands, brushing the dirt from it just as an air raid siren started to go off.

Jack Harkness put on his best ten thousand watt smile and said, "Here you go, miss, you know we should probably get to safety…"

Jack's voice trailed off when he saw the woman's face, delicate Asian features on a backdrop of alabaster skin. The eyes were a deep honey colour, flecked with gold. _No… Impossible! _Jack felt his jaw drop and the hat tumbled to the ground again out of his numb fingers. His blood ran cold at the sight of the woman he had once loved… still loved. The woman he thought was dead. The woman who had once been his wife and would one day be called Miranda Ryan.

"Will…" the name slipped from his lips and sent a shiver down his spine.

The woman was staring at him with an equally shocked expression. She took a step backwards when he'd uttered the name.

"Jack…" she gasped and ran off down an alleyway.

Jack darted after her and saw her duck into a half crumbling abandoned building. He followed, shouting her name after her. He snagged her arm in the middle of the abandoned room, the floor strewn with dust and rubble.

"Will! How…" Jack whispered as he drew in a shuddering breath. It had been over fifteen years and she hadn't aged a day. She looked every bit as lovely as she had the day he'd married her. _Is she like me…? _he dared to wonder.

She shook off his arm and then shoved him with a surprising amount of strength. She raked her eyes up and down his RAF uniform. "What are you wearing?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, note the stripes," he snapped.

"Section Officer Madeline Wu, note the sarcasm," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "Jack Harkness jumped off a cliff in Santorini, Greece in 1926."

"The same year Wilhelmina Harkness threw herself off the Menai suspension bridge," Jack spat back at her.

It was Miranda who stepped forward first, throwing a hard right cross into the other immortal's jaw and Jack went sprawling. He recovered quickly, getting to his feet to throw a punch of his own that she dodged. She brought her fist up into his belly, knocking the wind out of him and then her knee came up, straight into Jack's groin.

"Oo!" he shouted in pain as he crumpled to the ground.

When she went to kick him in the gut, Jack grabbed her foot and twisted it. She fell to the ground, her head hitting a piece of rubble, stunning her. He scrambled up, straddling her legs and threw two quick punches to her face. Miranda sat up, head butting him hard but he shook it off and pinned her arms above her, tears streaming down his face.

"You left me! You killed yourself! Why, Will?! WHY!?" he shouted into her face.

"You didn't give me a choice! You wouldn't listen!" she shouted back as she managed to free one of her arms, raking her nails down his face drawing blood. She watched as the scratches sealed themselves, vanishing as if they'd never been.

Jack recaptured her wrist and slammed it into the ground as she continued to struggle, half heartedly, beneath him. He let go of one of her arms and pressed his forearm into her throat.

"How could you? I loved you!" Jack screamed, pressing hard enough into her throat to cut off air. He closed both his hands around her throat and squeezed. "I still love you! Did you ever love me?!"

She gurgled under the pressure, she couldn't breathe and started to struggle, clawing at Jack's wrists.

"Jack!" she barely managed.

He let up enough so she could speak.

"I did! I do! The child… you wouldn't let it go!" she cried, her own tears of anger forming. "I had to leave! You wouldn't listen! I love you so much! I'll always love you!"

He used the hands around her throat to lift her up off the floor as she choked. He crushed their lips together, never taking his hands from her throat.

She melted into the kiss, the lack of air making her dizzy as Jack plundered her mouth. She let go of his wrists and reached forward for his uniform, grabbing his shirt and ripping it open, buttons popping and cloth tearing. He let go of her neck and shrugged out of the greatcoat tossing it amongst the rubble as she tossed her own coat aside. Once free from the thick wool, he dove for her again, ripping her uniform blouse open with the same aggression, the two of them kissing hungrily. He tore the slip and bra underneath as well, the sound of ripping cloth echoing in the crumbling building. With an almost feral growl, he ducked his head, attacking her breast with his teeth, biting hard enough to bruise and she threw her head back and screamed.

She pushed her hands against his shoulders, trying to push him up but he backhanded her across the face, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand as the other fumbled for his belt and trousers. Once his erection was jutting from the trouser flies, he used his knees to push her thighs apart, settling himself between her legs.

"Jack…" she said.

She managed to get one of her hands free and fisted it in his hair, dragging him down for another messy kiss. She yanked him away from her mouth by the hair and forced his head between her legs, curling her thigh around his neck.

He lapped at her greedily, obscenely, as wet slurping noises filled the room along with her cries of delight. Her hand was still fisted in his hair, painfully, and when he tried to sit back up, she tried to force him back down. He bit down on her clit and she let go of his hair and cried out in pain. He surged back up her body, capturing her lips in a kiss, smearing her juices over her face. She hooked her leg around his, trying to roll them but he would have nothing of it. He backhanded her again.

With a growl, she brought her hand up again, to rake her nails down his neck and chest, again drawing more blood. With a growl of his own, he seized her wrist, pinning it to the floor as he sunk his teeth into her breast again and she let out a howl. He slid his knees apart, spreading her thighs farther. One handed he shoved her skirt hem up and then ripped her knickers from her.

He slammed into her in one stroke and heard her cry out as her hips met his thrust. He let go of her wrists and grabbed her thighs, drawing them up around his waist and she let out a low moan. He pounded into her, hard and fast. Her hands pressed into his chest, pushing him backwards. There were tears in both their eyes and Jack was dimly aware of her whimpering, the sounds of pain and pleasure blurring together so much that he couldn't tell the difference and he didn't care. He gripped at her waist, angling her so he could thrust deeper and harder and he heard her cry out in unmistakable ecstasy but the hands on his chest were still trying to push him off her.

With another feral growl, he slammed his hand down over her mouth, stifling her. He brought his other arm up and wrapped his hand around her throat, using the grips as leverage to thrust into her harder. Her hands flew to his wrists, her nails digging into his skin hard enough to draw blood and tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.

Animalistic, he grunted and panted as he continued to thrust into her, his own tears falling. She met each thrust with her own, pushing her hips up to meet him. Her back arched suddenly and he felt a gush of moisture as her muscles clamped down around him as she came, her scream muffled by his hand. He continued pounding into her, a wild snarl escaping his lips as his own orgasm exploded from him and he immediately rolled off of her, his orgasm only half complete. He laid on his back in the dust, his cock still spasming as the last bits of come dribbled down the side of his cock, a few weak spurts splattering the bottom of his ripped shirt.

She rolled, engulfing his cock and sucking down the last of his release as Jack's back arched off the floor and he pawed at her back, shouting. She let his soft cock slide from her mouth with a lewd slurp. She fell backwards, rolling away from him, her legs still splayed.

"What the fuck are you, Jack?" she asked.

"I could ask the same thing of you, Will," he said.

_Present day Cardiff… _

Jack shook off the memory that had been playing and replaying in his head every since he'd seen the deleted footage. He'd destroyed the drive in the Hub's incinerator. The rest of the team had filed into the boardroom and Ianto was distributing the coffee and Miranda's usual can of soda. Not really in the mood for the banter today about Miranda's habit of drinking straight from the can, Jack didn't even give it a chance to start.

"Let's get started people. Will? You have an update for us?" Jack said, settling into his seat.

Miranda rose and tapped the tablet in front of her.

"This is Andrew Boyle. He was a student at Cardiff University. He fits our previous victimology. Mr. Boyle has been undergoing treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder as well as generalised anxiety disorder. He's on several medications. He was picking up take away for him and his girlfriend when he was attacked," Miranda said and then tapped the tablet and allowed the CCTV footage to play, pausing it when the tentacle embedded itself into Andrew Boye's skull.

"The tentacle appendage appears to be what is used to drain the spinal fluid from the victims," Miranda said.

"Did she come through the rift?" Gwen asked.

"Sort of," Miranda said. She slid her finger along the tablet and the image of a medical scan came up on the screen.

"She's human. This is a scan I took of her last night and you don't need to be a doctor to see that something is seriously wrong," she said.

"What the bloody hell is that," Fish asked pointing at the screen.

"It's a parasite," Miranda said, taking out the laser pointer from her pocket and indicating the areas as she spoke. "You can see the main body of the parasite here. It's compressed itself into the ventricles of the brain and has compressed the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. The parasite also has structures, here and here, pressing and flattening itself along the brain stem and the cerebellum. The long tentacle we saw? It's coiled here, in the lower jaw inside some pocket beneath the tongue."

"But the girl looks alien," Ianto pointed out.

"Yes, she looks alien because the parasite is causing physical changes to her body and although I have no idea how or why," Miranda said and then slid her finger along the tablet again. "There's also these structures that are running down the spinal cord into the sciatic nerves of her legs and the brachial plexus nerves of the arms."

"It's using her! Like a puppet!" Gwen gasped.

"In all likelihood. She's probably no longer aware and the parasite has full control," Miranda said as she tapped the tablet and a new image came up of the girl's midsection. "There are also these two structures here and here that run into the girl's digestive and excretory systems. There are a number of smaller structures that are tied into the jugular veins and carotid arteries of the neck and other major vessels in her body. And then there's this last part, the most disturbing…"

"Yes, because this wasn't creepy enough already, Evie," Fish said scrubbing at his face with his hands. He looked faintly sick.

"This tube," Miranda said, pointing with the laser, "runs from the parasite into the girl's uterus. She's pregnant."

"Oh my God," Fish exclaimed. "Is the foetus human?"

"No, the uterus has undergone significant changes in size. The normal non-gravid uterus is the size of your fist. This uterus takes up almost her entire abdomen," Miranda said, outlining the organ with the laser pointer. "These small structures here? These aren't developing human foetuses."

Miranda tapped the tablet and then spread her fingers to enlarge the image. "Each one of these structures contains a small developing parasite. My estimate is there are about a dozen or so."

"How do we get the parasite out of her?" Fish asked.

Miranda shook her head. "We can't. It's too tied into her systems. And, like I said earlier, I don't think there's anything left of the girl at all. There is very little real estate inside the skull. The parasite has damaged the girl's brain to make room for it self. There's a significant amount of brain damage in the areas that house the higher functions. There are many smaller tendrils extending from the parasite into the girl's brain. If we removed the parasite, the girl would most likely be left in a permanent vegetative state. Plus, there's another problem. Ianto?"

"Based on my observations of the alien in the holding cell, this parasite is sentient," Ianto said.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Gwen gasped. "How can that be sentient?"

"It's not acting like an animal locked in a cell, Gwen," Ianto said. "It's acting like an intelligent creature that's been imprisoned."

"And because it's sentient, it raises other moral implications of killing it and its young," Miranda said.

"What are we going to do with her then?" Fish asked.

Jack stood up and said, "We'll study her for a few days as non-invasively and humanely as we can. Then we'll have to put her into cryostasis. We can't risk her giving birth. We'd end up with a dozen of these things running around killing people every twelve years."

"I don't even want to think about what that thing giving birth would be like," Gwen said, looking a bit green around the gills, the nostrovite on her mind.

"I have no idea. The girl's cervix is closed. It's been completely sealed in some way by the parasite. It's strange though, she shows signs of recent sexual activity."

"Jesus Christ, Evie, that girl looks like a child!" Fish exclaimed.

"She is young. The scan shows eruption of the last molar and long bone epiphyseal fusion so she's between eighteen and twenty one," Miranda said sadly.

"It's needed to exist in our society. If the creature is intelligent, it's probably figured out that prostitution would be the easiest way for a pretty young girl to earn money," Gwen said, the sick look changing to utter revulsion.

"You may not be far off the mark there, Gwen," Miranda said. "The tentacle appendage in the jaw secretes a sticky substance that induces human sexual arousal."

"The perfect method to lure customers," Gwen said with the shake of her head. "Do we know who she is?"

Miranda shook her head. "My guess is that the parasite is also doing something to her physiologically that's kept her from aging all this time. It's doubtful that we'll ever know her true identity given the fact that all this started nearly a hundred years ago."

Jack looked around at the table. "This might not seem like it right now but this is a win, everyone. This has been going on for too long. Let's clean it up. Ianto? Will? Try to learn as much about her as you can without hurting her. Let's see if we can communicate with her. Fish? Keep working at the clean up. Gwen? I know it's a long shot but try to dig a little, see if we can't find out who this girl is. Head down to the police station and see if you can't dig up some old missing person's reports."


	8. Chapter 8

The next day Fish was holed up in his lab. It had been a gift from the team. They had converted one of the old storage rooms into a large chemistry laboratory for him as a fortieth birthday gift. Fish had been touched at the thoughtfulness. To show his appreciation he'd mixed up a show for the team the very next weekend filled with explosions and flashing lights to great success and fanfare.

It may make him a workaholic or an eccentric but Fish enjoyed identifying substances in the archives in his spare time, for fun. He'd been overjoyed when Miranda had given him a number of samples she'd collected from the alien for him to identify and process. It gave him an excuse to putter about in the laboratory. The CCTV footage for the clean up was what took priority right now but Fish had started to go cross eyed from staring at his screen for so long. He'd decided to take a few hours break from it and set to work this morning on the samples and it had been quick, fun and easy.

Satisfied the job was complete, Fish left the machines to process. They'd print their results in a few hours. It hadn't taken him long to identify and isolate what Miranda had given him. He'd enjoyed the brief respite from CCTV footage. He looked at the clock and saw it was nearly lunch. His eyes and his mind refreshed, he'd return to the CCTV after he got something to eat. He stretched his arms up over his head, a few loud cracks and pops coming from his back. _Christ, I'm getting old…_

He took off his protective gear and wandered upstairs to the Hub kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. He sighed when he saw the pot was empty. He craned his neck looking around for Ianto and found him just coming out of Jack's office.

"Hey, Ianto? Do you mind putting on a pot?" Fish asked.

"Sure, Fish, give me a few minutes," Ianto said, straightening his tie. "Lunch should be here shortly. I hope curry is okay?"

_Again?_ "Yeah, fine," Fish said. He started back towards his workstation to wait for the coffee when his mobile rang. He didn't recognise the number and it had an American prefix but he connected the call anyway.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hello? Joe? Is that you? I hope you remember me… It's Henry. From the hotel?" came the English voice.

Despite himself, Fish found a smile breaking out over his face and his heart fluttering in his chest. How could he forget? He felt like a teenager.

"Henry, hi! It's good to hear from you," Fish said. "Your mobile's got an American number."

"Yes, I live in Canada," Henry said.

"Fish? The coffee should be ready in a minute," Ianto called out to him.

"Thanks Ianto!" Fish called back.

"Is this a bad time?" Henry asked.

"A bit, I'm at work," Fish said.

"I'm sorry I didn't realise," Henry said, uneasy.

Fish smiled at the English politeness. "Nah, s'ok, I've been going non-stop since this morning. I think I'm due a bit of a break. Hang on a sec, let me get somewhere quiet."

He crossed the Hub and headed for the steps. When he got up onto the catwalk, he opened the door to the hothouse and slipped inside.

"Sorry about that," Fish said.

"No apology necessary, I certainly didn't mean to interrupt you at work," Henry said. "I assumed that since it was Sunday…"

"That I'd be off," Fish finished for him. "Sorry, I can't really talk about it. Non-disclosure agreements and the like."

"I understand," Henry said. "I suppose dinner tonight wouldn't be possible?"

Fish felt his heart flutter a little and then sink with disappointment. Even though the case was nearly closed, Fish still had a lot to do with the clean up and the sample processing and he was on night duty tonight. _Bloody Torchwood_... "I don't think so, Henry. I'd love to, really… but things are in a bit of a crush here."

"Could you get away for a bite of lunch?" Henry asked.

"Yes, actually, I could," Fish said, mentally scolding himself for not suggesting it. "Do you know where Roald Dahl Plass is?"

"Yes, would you like for me to meet you there?" Henry asked.

"Please, by the water tower," Fish said.

"When?" Henry asked.

"Umm, would right now be okay? I know it's short notice…" Fish said.

"Now is fine, I'll see you in a few minutes," Henry said. Fish swore he heard Henry trip over something. He could almost see the other man rushing through his hotel room for his shoes and coat.

"Looking forward to it," Fish said and disconnected the call with a smile.

He dropped his phone into his shirt pocket and dashed out of the hothouse then down the metal stairs. He almost knocked Ianto over who was carrying the take away when he made for his workstation. "Shit, Ianto, mate, I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Fish. Everything will be in the boardroom," Ianto said.

"Actually, I'm going to meet a mate for lunch," Fish said, suddenly embarrassed to be going on a lunch date. "Feeling a bit claustrophobic."

"Not a problem. I'll put yours into the fridge," Ianto said as he dug through the bag. The Welshman glanced at his watch. "I think the rift predictor is showing some quiet ahead. It's just the clean up now, so take your time."

"Thanks, mate," Fish said as he put on his jacket. He raised his head as he heard Miranda's mobile ringing. _How old is that bloody woman?_ Fish thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at Miranda's Katy Perry ringtone. He waved at Ianto as he left by the cog wheel door and took the lift up to the tourist office. When he got to the top of the ramp, he saw Henry leaning against one of the poles next to the water tower. Fish jogged over and extended his hand. "Henry, sorry, took me a minute to get away."

"Not a problem," Henry said with a smile, grasping Fish's hand. "There's a little bistro around the corner, Mimosa I think it's called? The clerk at the desk recommended it."

"Sounds great," Fish said, "but you're letting me pay this time."

"Sure," Henry said with a laugh and the two men fell into silence as they walked towards the restaurant. The hostess sat them next to the window. Fish suddenly felt a little self conscious about having a lunch date with another man. He glanced about a little nervously after the waiter had taken their orders.

"Something the matter, Joe?" Henry asked.

It was then that Fish realised he was being a bit thick. He remembered something Miranda had said about making assumptions when you meet someone and that Henry and Fish were most likely doing exactly that with each other. There was assumption that Fish needed to set to rights now.

"I should level with you, Henry," Fish said. "I've never done this before."

"Had lunch?" Henry asked with a bemused expression.

Fish smiled a little at the bemused look. It warmed his heart. There was a slight upturn to the corners of Henry's lips and mischief in his green eyes. Fish wanted to lock the look away and keep it all for himself.

"Another bloke," he said, his voice quivering a bit.

Henry's eyebrows raised a bit. "Dipping your pen into the blackest ink, are we?"

"Ralph Waldo Emerson," Fish blurted, just as he had the night before. "I'm sorry I should have said something last night."

"It's fine, Joe," Henry said. "I'm more than happy to just be friends."

Fish saw the flicker of disappointed across Henry's face. He reached across the table for Henry's hand and said firmly, "I don't think that's what I want here."

Henry smiled and squeezed Fish's hand but his face turned a little serious. "Joe, you seem a decent man and I'm a complicated one but I'm not interested in being some sort of one off experiment."

"Right," Fish said, looking down at the table, a little hurt that that was what Henry thought he was doing. He hadn't noticed he was doing it but his thumb had been rubbing small circles on Henry's hand. It seems Henry hadn't been aware of it either and after a few seconds, Henry was staring down at their joined hands.

"Sorry," Fish said. He blushed furiously and tried to pull his hand away but Henry held on firm.

"I think that I'd still like to get to know you better, Joe," Henry said with a smile.

Fish blushed and smiled back. When the waiter returned with their food, Fish fought the impulse to let go of Henry's hand the minute he arrived. He waited until his plate had been deposited in front of him and the waiter had left.

"Hungry?" Henry asked as Fish attacked his club sandwich.

"Starved, I skipped breakfast," Fish said.

"I know you don't have much time so why don't we eat and go for a walk on the Bay?" Henry asked.

The two men finished their food quickly, eating mostly in silence. After Fish settled the bill, they bundled into their coats and made their way onto the boardwalk just talking. They walked on, side by side, the conversation flowing easily. He could feel Henry's hand gently brushing against his as they walked and he fought the urge to hold it. Fish found himself enjoying the company. For a man so young, Henry was incredibly articulate. He seemed to have had a wide and varied education and had done a great deal of traveling. Then again, Fish hadn't asked how old Henry was. He was still going by the young man's face. If Fish had never seen Henry and only spoken with him, he would have put Henry's age closer to his own. In fact, Fish would have assumed Henry was older than him. The conversation continued as the two of them walked along the water, stopping occasionally to enjoy the view. Fish smiled as Henry mentioned a few bits of trivia about Cardiff. It certainly wasn't the young man's first time in the city. The air was crisp and cold but both men ignored it, enjoying each other's company.

"You said you went to university in America?" Henry asked.

"Yup, MIT. What about you? Did you go to university in Canada?" Fish asked.

Henry shook his head. "No, I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York."

"New York?" Fish said, brightly, smiling with great interest. He leaned his arms onto the railing above the tourist office. "I've never been, always wanted to go though. A bit of a dream of mine."

Henry laughed heartily, the sound warming Fish's heart. Like Henry's bemused expression, Fish wanted to lock that sound away just for himself. "You do realise Boston is less than a four hour drive from New York? And an even faster journey by train?"

"Yes, I got that, thanks," Fish said with a slight eye roll. "My mates were always taking the piss too. There was never any time. I was doing so much, two majors and a minor, undergraduate research, the cross country team… Then there was graduate school and my doctorate…" Fish shook his head. He never realised how much time he spent in his more formative years working.

"It is one thing to be accomplished, Joe, quite another to inundate yourself," Henry said with a smile. "'A wasted youth if better by far than a wise and productive old age.'"

"Are you seriously quoting a Meatloaf song to me?" Fish said with a laugh.

Henry shrugged, his eyes dancing. Just like last night, Fish was filled with the desire to kiss him. He cleared his throat nervously and turned around, resting his forearms on the railing.

"New York is the greatest city in the world," Henry said with a smile. "It's a wonderful place but it's a hard place."

"Can I ask you something Henry?" Fish asked.

"I believe you just did, Joe," Henry said, flashing him the same bemused expression and Fish felt a gush of affection.

"How old are you?" Fish asked delicately.

The bemused expression vanished, replaced with seriousness. Fish thought he saw a flash of fear and then concern. He'd made Henry uncomfortable.

"Why do you ask?" Henry countered, leaning his back against the railing and crossing his arms over his chest. Fish could have sworn the question was a little defensive and he decided to not back down just yet.

"Curiosity. You're well travelled and your manner isn't what I'd expect from someone so young," Fish said. He felt a little badly that he'd turned the lighthearted nature of their conversation but he didn't understand why Henry found the subject so uncomfortable. Discomfort with one's age was usually reserved for children or someone more advanced in years than this youth that stood before him.

"I'm older than I look," Henry repeating what he said the night before but without the playful tone this time.

Fish shook his head a bit. The finality of the tone and the half answer was something he would have expected from Miranda. He decided to let the subject drop as his mouth curved into a small smile.

"Something amuses you?" Henry asked.

"You said that before. That's the kind of answer my friend, Evie, would give me when she didn't want to answer a question," Fish said with a shrug.

"Ah, I see," Henry said. "Does my youthful appearance make you uncomfortable?"

"A bit," Fish said, jerking his head back at the few odd looks the couple was getting.

"Pay them no mind, Joe."

Fish had been trying to since they'd left the restaurant. Fish didn't feel it was the same sex nature of their relationship that drew those stares, but the age difference. He looked good for his age but Fish was in his forties. Henry looked to be in his mid-twenties at most and Fish had to admit that it made him feel like a dirty old man bordering on a paedophile. Ever since he'd met Henry for lunch, Fish felt as if he had a scarlet letter branded onto his chest. The staff had talked in hushed whispers, glancing at him and Henry throughout their meal. As they'd walked down the quay, they'd drawn a few stares from other people. Fish looked into Henry's face, the young man smiling at him. He felt Henry's hand on his arm and immediately stopped brooding. He knew he should return to the Hub but he didn't want to leave this man's side. He could have stayed with him all day, walking through the streets of Cardiff, just talking.

"Thank you for lunch," Henry said, gently.

"You're welcome," Fish said. "I like it out here, by the water."

"It is very peaceful."

"Have you visited your friend?" Fish asked.

Henry shifted closer to him, their arms pressed against each other. Fish felt his cheeks flush. _Must be the cold…_

"No, like you, she is occupied with work," Henry said. "I delayed my meetings in London a few more days."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," Fish said, turning towards Henry.

"She wasn't the reason I did it," Henry said, giving Fish a pointed look.

The moment stretched between them again. Fish couldn't remember who leaned first but suddenly, Henry's lips were on his, kissing him gently, almost hesitantly, and Fish lost the ability to form coherent thought. He melted into the kiss as it deepened and lost its hesitance. He reached down and twined his fingers into Henry's as he felt Henry's hand slide around his waist, under his coat. That arm tugged him close and Fish felt Henry's tongue slide along his bottom lip. He felt his knees threatening to give way as Henry's tongue slid into his mouth and along his own. Fish had had plenty of girlfriends, lovers, flings and one night stands… even a fiancée. But no one's kiss had ever affected him like this. Their bodies were pressed flushed into each other and Fish's heart pounded in his chest. He swore he could feel Henry's own heart beating in time against his own. They broke apart only for air. They were both slightly breathless, their foreheads resting against each other. Time stood still and the whole world had melted away. There was no one else but them and the crisp Cardiff breeze.

"When can I see you again?" Henry asked, a hint of desperate longing in his low voice.

"I'm sorry. I don't know…" Fish said and captured Henry's lips in his again. The kiss was soft this time, slow and gentle. He hadn't attempted any sort of relationship since he'd joined Torchwood four years ago and he was surprised at how much he missed feeling connected to another person. He was even more surprised at how connected he felt to this person. Fish found himself not wanting to leave this spot to return to work even more than before. He wanted to stay here, with this man. He felt a swirl of emotions and thoughts threatening to overwhelm him about what exactly he was doing and what was going on here. He stamped them back, trying to enjoy the stolen moment before he was forced to leave. He was about to brush his lips against Henry's cheek but suddenly, Henry stiffened and backed away from him.

"Henry? What's wrong?" Fish said, looking at Henry oddly. He was standing with his hand in his coat, looking up and down the Plass. His other arm was thrown protectively across Fish, pressing him into the railing. Fish's heart plummeted at the sight. It reminded him strongly of Miranda. _No… it's not possible…_

No sooner had the thought finished in his mind than Miranda came up the ramp that led down to the tourist office, her own hand in her coat. She started walking towards them. Things started to fit together in Fish's mind - Henry's half answers and his mature demeanour. _Oh my God…_

"Excuse me, Joe," Henry said as he walked towards Miranda.

"Henry don't," Fish said, his voice warning.

"It's all right. I can't explain now," Henry said.

Fish snagged Henry's arm as he moved towards Miranda. He yanked the other man towards him as hard as he could. Henry turned to give him an angry glare and snapped, "Unhand me, Joe!"

"Please don't do this, Henry. She's been in the Game a long time. She'll kill you," Fish begged.

Henry shoved Fish, tearing his arm away from him, his face full of utter shock. Henry's face had been flushed from their embrace but was now ashen. "What do you know of the Game?"

"She's my friend, Henry," Fish said. "I work with her."

Fish watched the dawning realisation forming on Henry's face. His eyes widened further. "You're Joseph Fischer!"

"My lord?" Miranda said, her eyes sparkling. When Henry turned and to Fish's bemused shock, Miranda dropped a low curtsey. "Forgive me, your grace, I thought we were having lunch tomorrow."

"This is the friend you came to see? The one busy with work?" Fish exclaimed. There had to be a bad joke about a small world in here somewhere.

Henry seemed at a loss of what to do. He looked from Miranda to Fish and back again, as if simultaneously taking stock of the situation and trying to find an escape from it.

"Evie, Henry came to have lunch with me," Fish said wondering if he should step between the two immortals.

"With you?" Miranda asked, surprised. "How do you know the Duke?"

Fish saw the pained look cross Henry's face. Miranda was obviously saying more than he wanted her to.

"Mao-Lin, when will you stop with all that ridiculous court formality!" he snapped.

"Evie, Henry and I met a few days ago," Fish said. "I didn't know who he was."

"Or what, apparently," she said with a smile and then turned to Henry. "And I pay you the respect you are owed, my Lord Richmond."

"You only do it to annoy and embarrass me," Henry hissed as his face reddened.

Fish blinked a few times. He was reminded sharply of the teasing banter that usually went on between him and his sister. He stepped between the two immortals.

"Look, I've had about all I can take right now so can the two of you please tell me what's going on here? Are you going to be taking each other's heads off or are you going to be tearing the mickey out of each other?"

"Tearing the mickey out of each other, mostly. Henry's one of my former students, Fish," Miranda said with a bright smile. Fish saw a playfulness in her eyes. Miranda cleared her throat, dropped her Irish accent and replaced it with an English one that mimicked Henry's own. In an almost official tone, she said, "May I present his grace, Henry Fitzroy, the fifth Earl of Nottingham and the first Duke of Richmond and Somerset."

Fish watched as Henry coloured even more, his face turning redder from embarrassment and anger, equally. _The illegitimate son of Henry VIII… Christ I just snogged a man who was almost the Crown Prince of England..._

"Thanks, Mao-Lin. Joe and I hadn't gotten to explanations yet. I'll call you later." Henry said, angrily, glaring at Miranda who almost immediately looked chastised. He looked Fish right in the eyes, pain and sadness flickering across his face before the man drew himself up. Fish could have sworn he saw goodbye in that look, like Henry had already lost him. Henry turned away from him and said, stiffly, "It was good to meet you, Joe."

Henry started to walk briskly across the Plass, his head down. Fish shot Miranda a death glare and snapped, "I'll be downstairs in a bit, Evie."

Miranda had clearly misread the entire situation. She'd though the two men had gone out for a friendly lunch but there was so much more going on here. Embarrassed and angry with herself, she walked back down the ramp and disappeared into the Tourist Office. Fish took off after Henry, ignoring Miranda's departure.

"Henry! Wait!" he shouted after the other man.

Henry continued to walk away, either ignoring him or not hearing him. Fish sprinted forward, grabbing Henry by the arm and shouting the other man, "Please, wait!"

"Unhand me, Joe," Henry said, whirling around angrily.

"Hey, ease off!" Fish snapped. "I get you're angry at Evie but you don't need to go taking it out on me!"

Fish saw Henry inhale sharply and then slowly exhale as he rolled his shoulders. Up until now, Miranda was the only person he'd seen do that sequence of movements.

"I'm sorry, Joe," Henry said, sadly. "Thank you, again, for lunch and your company."

"Henry stop! Why are you doing this? Is it because of Evie? Or are you just assuming I wouldn't want to keep seeing you because of this," he said, as he tapped the side of Henry's coat, feeling the sword concealed within it, "which is a load of bollocks by the way."

Henry's silence was all the answer Fish needed and a hot rush of anger pressed Fish's lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes. He lowered his voice to a whispered hiss and said, "What the bloody hell is wrong with all you fucking immortals? You treat us all like we're ignorant children. I'm forty years old so if you plan on treating me like I'm still in nappies, Henry, you can keep fucking walking."

Fish backed away from the other man a few steps. Henry still wasn't answering him. The immortal man was just standing there staring at him, overwhelmed by the situation.

"How about we act like adults and talk about this, Henry?" Fish asked. "I don't have time now but maybe tonight…?"

Henry nodded. "You're right, Joe. We should talk. Call me later on tonight when you're done with work."

Things had become uncertain between them and Fish was surprised at how upset that made him. Their lunch date and stroll had been so wonderful, so perfect. Fish had been so happy and now the space between them was awkward and troubled. Fish didn't want to just walk away but he didn't know what to say or do either. He didn't want to just turn and walk away. Their eyes locked and, like before, the moment stretched between them. Fish felt the overwhelming urge to kiss Henry again and tried to stamp it back. _Sod it_… Fish thought as he took two steps forward and kissed Henry who leaned into him, his hands gripping the back of Fish's neck. When the kiss ended, Henry slid his hands forward to cup Fish's face.

"I'll call you tonight," Fish said, letting his fingertips brush along Henry's jaw. "I just wanted you to know where I stood."

Henry nodded wordlessly. He was still cupping Fish's face, reluctant to let go. He rubbed Fish's cheeks with his thumbs. Henry pressed one more tender kiss to Fish's lips. It was almost chaste. Then, he turned and walked away. Fish forced himself to turn away as well. He walked towards the invisible lift and took it down into the Hub, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

He sat down at his workstation and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He had no idea what the fuck he was doing with this man. This man who was a four hundred year old immortal. This man who was the son of Henry VIII. This man who was… well, frankly, a man. He'd barely had enough time to process the new information when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

"I came to apologise, Fish," Miranda said.

Angry, Fish swiveled in his chair and snapped, "I'm not the one you should be apologising to, Evie. Henry was mortified."

"It's like the silliness between Ifan and I over the chopsticks and the soda can, Fish. Henry was royalty and he never liked it. All he wanted was to paint and draw and all his father wanted from him was his version of greatness. It took him a long time to get over that, to come out from under the boot of Henry VIII and become his own man," Miranda said with a sigh. "I tease him a lot about it and I got carried away. And yes, I've already called Henry to apologise to him."

Fish took Miranda's hand and squeezed it. "I like him, Evie."

"There's a lot to like about Henry," she said with a smile.

"You're not going to give me the fourth degree here?" he asked.

"It's not my place," she said softly and Fish got the distinct feeling that she was keeping something from him.

Miranda gave him a small smile before walking away back towards the autopsy bay. Fish scrubbed at his face again.

_What the fuck am I getting myself into…_ he thought and then decided to find out. It was probably a bad idea but Fish hopped onto the Internet and brought up Wikipedia and typed in Henry's name. Fish's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the image of Henry's portrait. It looked absolutely nothing like him. Curious, Fish switched to Google and did an image search but the ridiculous portrait was the only one he could find. Shaking his head, Fish read the Wikipedia article. It wasn't a long and didn't take him much time to read. Once he'd finished, he felt a little guilty about it. He'd just learned a great deal about Henry's life in a very round about sort of way and it felt a little dishonest. He should have gone to Henry and asked him instead of looking him up on the Internet.

"Tudor history?" Ianto asked as he set Fish's mug of coffee down on his desk.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Fish said with a sigh as he opened up the CCTV footage he had been manipulating yesterday.

Ianto rolled the chair from Gwen's workstation over and turned it around, sitting so his arms were on the back of the chair. He could tell Fish was troubled. "We're Torchwood, mate. Try me."

Fish gulped at his coffee and then ran his hand through his hair.

"The CCTV footage can wait a bit," Ianto said, seeing Fish's obvious out.

"After you left the bar, this bloke sat down next to me," Fish said and then related the rest of the story, his confusion and the new revelation of Henry's immortality. He sat there at his chair, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"I can't get him out of my head, Ianto. I can't stop thinking about him," Fish said.

Ianto leaned over and closed the web browser on Fish's workstation. "Well, I don't think Wikipedia is a good way to get to know someone."

"I know I shouldn't have done…" Fish trailed off with a sigh.

"But you had to start somewhere," Ianto finished for him. "Look, mate, set aside him being an immortal and Henry VIII's son and him being a friend of Mandy's for a minute because you and I both know that's not what the big issue is."

"Those are pretty big issues, mate," Fish said.

"The big issue is him being a bloke and you know it," Ianto said patiently. "Look, I get it. I've been there. This bloke is getting under your skin and you don't know why. He's nothing like anyone you've ever met or been attracted to before and I mean the lack of tits and curves."

"That's the long and short of it, yeah," Fish said.

"What do you fancy about Henry?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Fish countered, confused.

"You've been in love before, right, mate? You told me you were engaged once," Ianto said.

"To a woman…"

Ianto shook his head. Fish was missing the point and Ianto tried to come at it from a different direction. "No, to Olivia. How about this? What did you fancy about Olivia?"

"She had a great sense of humor, always made me laugh no matter how down I was. Christ that woman was determined. She set down to something and she got it. It drove me mad. She was never afraid to try something new and when she did she threw herself into it. Olivia never did anything halfway…" Fish said, a nostalgic look on her face.

"You see, mate, you didn't just tell me about the things that made her a woman. Those are the things that made her, her," Ianto pointed out. "So I'll ask you again, what do you fancy about Henry?"

"He throws more quotations around than I do. He likes to point out the obvious in this funny sort of smug way. Gets this funny look on his face when he does. When I talk, it's like he's really listening to me and not just waiting for his turn to speak," Fish said smiling softly.

"And nothing you just mentioned has anything to do with Henry being a bloke," Ianto said. "It's about the person not the gender."

Fish leaned forward, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes again. It still didn't make much sense to him and he wondered if it ever would. He kept trying to reason it out but kept falling short.

As if reading his mind, Ianto said, "Love isn't a reasonable thing, Fish. It's not something you can figure out with maths or logic. It's not about gay or straight. It's about you and Henry."

Fish was still trying to wrap his mind around what Ianto was saying and was still coming up short. "I don't know, mate, it's so bloody confusing. With Olivia, I knew where I stood. I haven't the slightest idea what to expect from a relationship with an immortal bloke…"

"You're preaching to the choir there, mate," Ianto said with a laugh.

Despite himself, Fish laughed as well. The two of them were near in tears when Jack poked his head out of his office looking perplexed.

"What's so funny, you two?" Jack asked, looking even more perplexed when the laughter intensified.


	9. Chapter 9

Fish and Ianto spent the rest of the day with the clean up aspects of the operation. Michael Howard's death by mugging was firmly established as was Andrew Boyle's and he'd decided it was enough for the day. He'd already shut down his workstation and collected his things. Now, he was just standing in front of his workstation, holding his mobile in his hand, staring at it. It'd just gone seven and with Jack and Ianto volunteering for his night duty, it was still early enough for him to see Henry. So, Fish dialed Henry's number and then immediately disconnected the call… once… twice and then three times. _For God's sake! You're a grown man… stop it… _he told himself firmly but he couldn't bring himself to dial again.

Ianto had just come up the east stairs and saw Fish standing at his workstation staring at his phone. He came up behind his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah… I told Henry I'd call, after I got off work…" Fish said.

"You've called and hung up haven't you?" Ianto asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"It's not funny, Ianto," Fish said, exasperated, not taking his eyes off his mobile. "It's ridiculous that I can't seem to work up the courage."

"Well, easy fix for that," the Welshman said with a devilish smile and then he snatched the phone out of Fish's hands.

"Oi!" Fish cried as he reached for his mobile but Ianto was taller than Fish and was holding the phone high up out of his reach. He watched in horror as Ianto's slim fingers tapped at the phone's touch screen, bringing up the recent calls list.

"Ianto, mate! Don't!" he begged. To Fish's annoyance, the Welshman was grinning from ear to ear. _Christ, this must be what having a younger brother is like…_

"Oi! Oi! No! Ianto! Please!" Fish cried. He jumped, trying to snatch the phone back but Ianto had turned, his back up against Fish's workstation. He'd switched the phone to his other hand and with Ianto's body and his desk in the way, the phone was firmly out of Fish's reach. _Fuck all!_

Fish's horror deepened as he saw Ianto's finger tap Henry's number on the recent calls list and the phone started to dial. Ianto put the call on speaker.

"I'll do your Weevil duties for a year!" Fish begged. He jumped again, knocking some things off his desk but Ianto switched hands again and bent his arm back. The phone was still completely out of Fish's grasp. Ianto shook his head, his grin broadened as the call rang once and then twice and then…

"Hello? Joe?" Henry's polished voice asked.

Ianto's grin had changed into a broad smile. He tossed the phone at Fish and said, "You'll thank me one day, mate."

"Joe? Are you there?" Henry asked again.

Fish muttered curses at Ianto's retreating back against Ianto, the Welsh, and anyone else he could think of. With his stomach doing flips and a lump in his throat, he took the call off speaker, raised the phone to his ear and said, "Henry, hi… sorry about that."

"I didn't know if you'd call," Henry admitted softly.

Fish could hear the relief in Henry's voice. _Fuck…_ Ianto was right. He was thanking him already. "Listen, I'm about to knock off. I was wondering, if we could talk? Maybe meet somewhere for a drink?"

"I don't think we should talk in the open, Joe," Henry said. "At the risk of sounding forward…"

"Your hotel room is fine, Henry," Fish said, smiling a bit at Henry's stammering.

"I'm on the fifth floor, suite five twenty six," Henry said. "Have you eaten? I could get us some room service?"

"I haven't yet, no, and that-" Fish broke off at the sound of Jack's office door opening so fast that it slammed against the wall. "Hang on a second Henry… Jack? What's wrong?"

"There's another body in Riverside," Jack said. "Gwen is on her way. I want Will to meet her there. I need you on the CCTV footage. Where's Ianto? I want him to coordinate with you."

Fish watched as Jack moved across the room towards a light switch on the far wall. Jack flicked the switch on and off a few times. The switch was connected to the lights in Miranda's rooms and would tell her that she was needed upstairs. He was barely registering what Jack was saying. How could there be another body? The parasite infested girl was in their cells!

"I don't know where Ianto is," Fish said. _Bloody Torchwood…_ "He was just here. Give me a minute Jack."

His mind had done a complete one eighty from dreading this evening with Henry to looking forward to it. Reluctantly, he moved towards the east stairs for a bit of privacy as he put his phone back against his ear.

"Henry-"

"I heard, Joe," Henry said, sounding disappointed and slightly amused. "It seems you have to work."

"I'm sorry," Fish said, relieved that Henry was understanding. "I can't explain. Has Evie told you anything about what we do?"

"Only that you investigate the strange and usual and that the nature of your work is clandestine, nothing more. I'm sure that whatever work your organisation does is important otherwise Mao-Lin wouldn't be involved," Henry said.

For a moment, Fish wondered at the name Henry was using for his friend. He spared a passing thought to what the woman's real name was as it seemed no one referred to her in the same way.

"Thank you for understanding, Henry," Fish said. "I don't know when I'll be free next. I know that you have other obligations…"

"Obligations that I have already postponed," Henry said. "I'll be in Cardiff until Thursday, Joe."

"This isn't fair, you waiting around for me," Fish said, feeling badly.

"I have nothing but time," Henry said matter-of-factly. It was something Fish had heard Miranda say more than once.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Fish said as he heard Jack calling for him from the main Hub.

"Be careful, please," Henry said softly. "Good night, Joe."

"I will. Night, Henry," Fish said.

Reluctantly, he disconnected the call and then ran his hand through his hair. He took a second, pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and then squared his shoulders. _Head in the game, Fischer_…

He bounded up the east stairs and sat down at his workstation, trying to clear the sound of Henry's voice from his head. Jack and Miranda were already gone and Ianto was sitting at Gwen's workstation.

"There you are," Ianto called out over his shoulder. "Jack said it's in Riverside by the train tracks near Clare Street."

Fish started bringing up the relevant cameras as he dropped his mobile onto his desk. "Sorry, I was on the phone with Henry."

"I'm sure he'll understand, Fish," Ianto said.

"He does. And Ianto? Thanks," Fish said and Ianto's only reply was a small smile. He shook his head, trying to focus. "This doesn't make any sense. That girl's downstairs."

"I have the live feed up here, I'll transfer it over," Ianto said, the long slim fingers dancing on the keyboard.

The window with the video feed popped up on Fish's screen. "I have it, let me back it up," Fish said as he clicked and activated the proper programs.

Since the case wasn't as closed as they all thought, Fish opened up the facial recognition programs designed by his predecessor, Toshiko Sato. He fed the parasite infested girl's image into the program. Acting on a hunch, he set the parameters to run through the missing person's database and left it to run in the background. He switched windows and started backing up the CCTV footage. The attack had been blocked by a passing train. One moment the victim was walking along the train tracks. The train passed and then the man was dead. There was no one in sight before or after the attack.

"Fuck all! The train's in the way and there aren't any other angles to work with," Fish shouted over to Ianto. His stomach rumbled a bit and he sighed as he thought about Henry, eating room service alone in his hotel room. _Five twenty six…_

"Follow him backwards, maybe he was stalked for a bit?" Ianto asked. He'd gotten up out of Gwen's chair and was leaning over Fish's shoulder.

Fish started sifting through the relevant footage, switching cameras and angles, trying to trace the victim's path. It was then he realised his comm unit wasn't in his ear. _Goddamit! _He took his ear piece out of his bag and popped it into his ear and activated it. He was distracted. He gave himself a stern mental shake, trying to clear Henry from his mind.

"Jack, I don't have any footage of the attack. The train went by just as it happened. The whole sodding thing is blocked," Fish said. "Ianto and I are trying to backtrack a little now."

"Keep us posted, Fish, we're nearly there," Jack said and then tapped his comm unit. He turned to Miranda in the passenger seat. "This doesn't make any sense, Will."

"I know, Jack," she said. "We'll figure it out."

By the time the two immortals had arrived on the scene, Gwen was already there, talking to a few of the local police. Jack got out of the SUV and caught her eye. He jerked his head and Gwen walked towards them.

"The body was found about half an hour ago, a couple of kids mucking about the tracks found it," Gwen said.

"Gwen, scan the crowd. The girl was with the bystanders. Look for someone tall, long arms and legs," Jack said. "Fish said a passing train blocked the cameras so we have no idea what we're looking for, we've only got the physical changes to go on."

Gwen nodded and then moved off. Under the guise of walking the grid of the scene, she scanned the crowd.

Jack walked over to Miranda who was crouched down, examining the body. He smiled a bit at the look of concentration on her face, her brow furrowed, her bottom lip caught in her teeth.

"Do you have a quid coin, Jack?" Miranda asked.

Jack dug into his pockets and fished out a few coins. He sorted through them in the palm of his hand. "No…"

Miranda pulled out her phone and started to tap at it. After a few moments, she turned to Jack and said, "Which coins do you have?"

"Two twenties, a five, a ten and a few pennies," he said.

"Hand me a twenty pence," she said.

He dropped the coin into her hands and crouched down next to her. "What are you doing?"

"I don't have my ruler with me and since it's a Torchwood case none of the crime scene processors are here," she said as she took the coin, turned it on edge and dipped it into the hole in the back of the corpse's skull. The coin slid easily into the wound with some space on either side. "The hole in the first skull was twenty three millimetres. The hole in the second body was nineteen. According to the Royal Mint, the twenty pence coin has a diameter of twenty one point four."

Jack saw the reasoning. "So since this coin fit, this wound is bigger than the one we saw on the body that turned up two days early. You're still assuming the size is significant."

"I know it's a reach but at this point, it's a reach I'm willing to make," she said, handing the coin back to him.

"Keep it," he said, wrinkling his nose a bit. He stood up looking around for Gwen. When he caught her eye, she shook her head slightly. "Let's get this body back to the Hub."

Miranda saw his shoulders slump in disappointment. Jack tapped his comm unit and spoke. "Fish? We're heading back. Can you get Ianto to set up the autopsy bay for Will?"

"Sure Jack," Fish said from his workstation back at the Hub. He turned away from his screen towards Ianto who was coming out of the Hub kitchen with coffee.

Fish relayed the message and Ianto wandered down into the autopsy bay after handing Fish his mug. Fish continued with his own work, trying to see if he could locate the victim anywhere else on the cameras around the area of the attack. It seems the man had been wandering along the tracks, not along the streets and he wasn't able to find anything. He was still working on the footage when Gwen, Jack and Miranda returned. The three other team members turned to their own tasks. Miranda went down to begin the autopsy. Gwen had started sifting through the CCTV footage of the girl they had downstairs, trying to trace her movements and Fish was still trying to retrace their latest victim's steps. Jack and Ianto were downstairs, trying to communicate with the alien in their custody. He kept working until his eyes started to burn. Fish rubbed them, trying to get them to stop stinging. It was nearly half ten now and neither he nor Gwen seemed to have found anything.

The two men came back up into the main Hub looking frustrated. Ianto wandered off towards the Hub's kitchen to put on more coffee for everyone while Jack came up behind Fish.

"I've nothing yet, Jack. Anything out of her?" Fish asked, jerking his head towards the east stairs.

"Nothing. Ianto said he's been trying to talk to her since she got here and nothing's working. I thought maybe she couldn't understand us but this isn't helping," Jack said, tapping his vortex manipulator. "The parasite might not be capable of communicating with us. Let me know if you or Gwen find anything. I'll be in my office. I'm going to take a look at the footage of her in the cell."

"Got it, Jack," Fish said, turning his attention back to his work.

The team continued to work into the night and finally, well past midnight, Jack emerged from his office and glared at Gwen and Fish. The two of them had continued to work, grabbing at smaller and smaller straws as the evening had worn on fueled by Ianto's coffee as they grew more and more weary.

"Go home you two," he bellowed. "We pick this up tomorrow. I don't want to see either of you before lunch."

Fish blinked down at his mobile. It was far too late to even consider seeing Henry, let alone call him. Bleary eyed and bone weary, he gathered his things and drove home in the pouring rain.


	10. Chapter 10

With a frustrated groan, Fish slapped at his alarm clock… again. He'd hit the snooze button half a dozen times already, something he did pretty much every morning. Fish got to the Hub at seven. Jack had told him not to be in before lunch and usually but whenever Jack told him to come in late, he tried to be in no later than ten. He pushed himself up on his elbows and blinked at the clock. It was nearly half nine. _FUCK!_ He'd overslept. Fish bolted out of bed and into the small en suite, he turned the shower on and stepped under the tepid spray, cursing his flat's poor water heater. He decided to forego shaving, instead toweling himself down as fast as he could and dressing, again, as fast as he could.

Muttering to himself, he collected his things and bolted from his flat, cursing as he had to go back up the stairs to lock the door and grateful his nosy and overly talkative neighbor hadn't poked her head out of her flat across the hall. On his way back down the stairs, he sent a quick text to Ianto saying that he was on his way and asking the Welshman to pick him up some breakfast if he was already going out for the rest of the team. He hated to ask but the pizza he'd had the night before was a long time ago and his stomach was already rumbling. He opened the front door and groaned. It was still pissing down and he was parked the next block over. By the time Fish had run around the corner and down to the next block for his car, Ianto had texted him back telling him that breakfast was waiting for him along with copious amounts of coffee.

The entire rain soaked jog Fish cursed his flat. He'd been thinking about moving for ages now. His flat was too far from the Hub and parking was a disaster. Often when he worked past midnight, Fish ended up sleeping in one of the staterooms. The small rooms in the north sub-basement were a level below Miranda's own rooms and the staff often used them for a quick kip. In his case, it was just to save him the commute and give him a bit more time asleep. He hadn't done so last night because he didn't have any fresh clothes at the Hub. He and Gwen both kept a complete change of clothes at work but last week, he'd used his when something called a fuligo pod had doused him in some sort of fruit pulp. He hadn't replaced them yet nor forgiven Miranda for not warning him that touching the flower on top of the pod was a bad idea.

His flat was all the way up in Roath. It was a lovely area but simply too far. It was the same flat he'd had since he'd moved to Cardiff three years ago and Fish realised it was inadequate within a week of letting the flat. The flat was too small and too cramped but those qualities were easily dismissed since he spent so little time there. The main problem was its distance from the Hub. He'd put off finding a new flat because he had so little time to look for one and he hated moving. From starting his car to when Fish parked in the Hub garage was over twenty minutes. That was fine on a normal day but in an emergency it was too long. With a sigh, Fish realised he needed to bite the bullet and find a new place to live.

He sat down at his desk and Ianto was immediately at his side, a pastry on a plate in one hand and a large mug of coffee in the other.

"You're a saint, Ianto, thank you," Fish breathed as he gulped down the coffee.

"Jack wants us all to meet over lunch," Ianto said.

Fish nodded and started up his workstation. He popped his comm unit into his ear and then took a large bite of the pastry. It crunched loudly and the flakes of pastry flew about, a few falling onto his desk. The powdered sugar also fell like a dusting of snow and Fish smiled as he chewed. _Apple…_ It was always apple. Ianto had somehow automatically known it was his favourite. Fish brushed at his shirt with his hand and picked up his phone to send a text to Henry apologising again for their aborted plans. He was about to turn his workstation on when a loud thump behind him made him jump a bit.

"Oi!" he snapped, turning around. "Don't even think about it!"

The resident pterodactyl turned her head, eyeing his breakfast.

"Oi! I mean it!" he shouted and pointed upwards. "You've had your breakfast, this is mine, you bloody pigeon!"

Myfanwy let out a frustrated squawk and took a step back, staring at him. Fish craned his neck, looking for Ianto. Not finding the Welshman anywhere in sight, he leaned over and dug into his bag. He unwrapped a bar of dark chocolate and tossed it to the pterodactyl who caught it, midair and then flew up to her nest. Fish tucked the wrapper into his bag, he'd dispose of it at home. If Ianto knew he was feeding Myfanwy chocolate before lunch, he'd have the technician's hide. The pterodactyl was on a diet.

Fish turned to his workstation and saw that the program he'd set to run the night before with the parasite afflicted girl's picture had stopped. At first, he was annoyed, thinking the program had failed but he should have had more faith in Toshiko Sato. The program had returned a hit. Fish started to read the missing person's report as he activated his comm unit.

"Hey everyone? I've got something," Fish said.

It took less than a minute for everyone to crowd around his workstation.

"On a whim, I tossed the girl's picture into the facial recognition program and ran it through the missing person's database. I got this hit," Fish said bringing up the image. "Jessica Rees, age nineteen. Reported missing 27 December, 1999."

Gwen started reading over his shoulder. "Her Mum said she went to a friend's on Boxing Day and never came home."

Miranda sighed. "Looks like her all right. If she was only infected twelve years ago, the bodies we saw during the twentieth couldn't have been her."

"You're assuming the parasite stays in a single host," Jack said. "That might not be how it is. We don't know what their life cycle is like."

"It makes sense, Jack. This parasite is very hooked into her nervous system. It's made physical changes to her body. Why bother with all that if it's just going to inhabit a host for a short time and move on?" Miranda pointed out and then furrowed her brow.

"Okay we'll run with that assumption for now but, Gwen, I want you to see if anyone's turned up dead or hospital with the physical changes we're seeing and I also want you with Fish on this girl. We need everything about her we can find. I want pictures so we can figure out what this alien's done to her. Fish? Dig back into the CCTV footage. I want every second this girl's been on camera since she was in nappies. Where's Ianto?"

"Taking her breakfast," Miranda said, jerking her head towards the east stairs.

"I watched the video from the cells, she's getting more and more agitated and we still can't communicate with her," Jack said with a sigh. "Will? See if you have any luck talking to her. And if you don't, Gwen you're next. I want to see if she reacts differently to a woman."

A loud clatter from the east stairs brought everyone's heads up. Jack and Miranda both bolted towards the stairway shooting warning glares at Gwen and Fish to stay put. Fish inwardly cursed the standing protocol that Ianto had dubbed 'The Warder's Orders' and tried not to show Gwen how irritated he was. The two immortals were always the ones who went into a potentially dangerous situation first. Fish understood the reasoning behind the protocol. Lord knows, he owed his life to Jack and Miranda dozens of times over but both Miranda and Jack tended to condescend a little to the mortal members of the team. It made the Warder's Orders feel a bit like 'Mummy and Daddy go first' to Fish.

Just as Miranda and Jack got to the bottom of the stairs, guns drawn, they heard Ianto's voice.

"It's all right! Calm down!" Ianto was saying softly at the alien, both his hands raised in a calming gesture.

"Ianto?" Jack shouted rushing into the corridor with his gun drawn with Miranda on his heels. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, she's had a bit of a tantrum is all," Ianto said, waving at the alien. "This is the same breakfast I brought her yesterday. She didn't have a problem with it then."

The tray of food was completely upended. The bowl of cold cereal was dripping down the clear wall. The plastic cup of juice was laying on its side, the juice in a puddle on the floor. Ianto had also brought her a plate of apple slices, also now scattered on the floor. The girl was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees and rocking herself back and forth.

"Why don't you boys go on back upstairs?" Miranda said, studying the alien carefully.

"Don't do anything stupid, Will," Jack warned.

Miranda shot him a glare as the two men went back into the main Hub. She inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly as she rolled her shoulders.

"Do you remember me?" Miranda said as she crouched down low. "Jack thinks that you cannot communicate with us but I think otherwise."

The alien didn't move, she was still sitting in the corner with her knees bent up into her chest.

"No, I think you understand me perfectly," Miranda said.

And that was when Miranda saw it, the smallest quirk of the alien's mouth. She did understand. This parasite was sentient, intelligent and capable of communicating with them. It was entirely possible the parasite had opened Jessica Rees's mind like a book. It could know everything she did. The reverse was also possible but this creature had survived in human society for over a dozen years. It had to know something, either stolen from Jessica's mind or learned on its own.

"Why are you here? Did you fall through the rift?" Miranda asked, still trying to maintain diplomacy and politeness.

In the past, Miranda would have been ordered to extract information out of this alien by any means possible if she knew anything or not, if she was capable of communicating or not. Afterwards Torchwood would have stood as judge, jury and executioner for the parasite's crimes. The girl and the parasite would have been autopsied to learn as much as possible and then disposed of. But this was Jack Harkness's Torchwood. Diplomatic and non-violent solutions were always attempted first. Peaceful relations were to be maintained with any aliens that stepped foot on Earth soil, even if those aliens committed crimes. Aliens in their custody, even prisoners, were treated as humanely and gently as possible. Torture was a method of last resort and only used in the most dire of circumstances. Miranda did not always agree with Jack's pacifism but she followed his orders and trusted his judgement.

The alien continued to ignore her but Miranda didn't miss the twitchiness about her. There was a nervousness and an anxiousness about her. The girl looked as if she was wanted to crawl out of her skin. It reminded Miranda of junkies jonesing for their next fix. She had an idea, one she knew would be very unpopular.

She stood up and went back into the main Hub. The rest of the team was bent over their respective workstations, trying to gather as much information as possible. Jack was leaning over Ianto's shoulder, pointing at something on the screen. Miranda walked over to the men and Jack turned to face her.

"Anything, Will?" he asked.

"Nothing. Can I speak to you alone, Jack?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral but Ianto swiveled in his chair. Something in the immortal woman's body language had sent off warning bells in Ianto's head. He followed the pair with his eyes as they disappeared into Jack's office, shutting the door behind them.

Miranda turned to Jack and regarded him carefully.

"I think the parasite needs the cerebrospinal fluid its been draining from its victims. She's acting like a junkie, jonesing for a fix down in that cell," she said plainly.

"We give her what she needs, she talks." Jack could see where this was going. He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest, hands gripping his upper arms, frowning slightly.

"Quid pro quo, Jack," Miranda said with a shrug. "I'd volunteer myself but I'm the only one who knows how to collect the sample."

"How much do you need?" Jack asked, not hesitating as always.

"I can't remove too much without causing you significant side effects. The easiest solution is to remove a large amount in a terminal procedure," she said as she sat down on the sofa. "I wanted to discuss the options. You and I always make the sacrifice willingly but I don't want to put you through this for nothing."

"Do what you have to, Will. I'll come back," he said matter-of-factly with a one shouldered shrug.

"And if you think it should be so simple, perhaps we should include Ifan in this discussion?" she said, lifting her chin a bit and Jack winced.

"Exactly. You and I look at our immortality one way. They look at it in an entirely different fashion," she said and then waved at the main Hub. "Do you think she has useful information for us?"

"We won't know that until we try, Will," Jack said. He furrowed his brow a bit and asked, "How would we do this?"

Miranda swallowed. She crossed her legs at the knee and looked past Jack out the window of his office, not meeting the man's eye. She kept her voice even and almost clinical as she spoke. "Under anaesthetia, I'd make a small incision and then drill through the skull and insert a needle to remove the spinal fluid from the ventricles of the brain."

"And that'll kill me?" Jack asked. He saw the almost imperceptible twitch to her jawline. It wasn't the first time she'd perform a terminal procedure on him and he knew how much she hated it.

"The drug I've chosen as the initial sedative will minimize the possibility of seizure. I'll be administering a dangerously high dosage but I don't think it will kill you. I don't know if removing that much fluid will kill you either. Likely I'd have to give some sort of euthanising injection."

Jack ran his hand through his hair. The procedure didn't sound pleasant but it wasn't the thought of the procedure that was twisting his insides. "Oh, man, Ianto's not going to like this."

"Precisely why I need to know if putting you and him through this is worth it," she emphasized.

"You can't prove a negative, Will," Jack said, his head down.

Miranda could tell he was thinking, weighing the options. To her, it was worth it. If she hadn't thought so, she wouldn't have suggested it. Once the idea had occurred to her, she'd done her best to think of the most humane and painless method possible and now the decision was Jack's.

"We'll do it tonight, after the others leave," Jack said.

With a nod, Miranda stood up and put her arms around Jack's waist and he kissed the top of her head. Out of habit, Miranda buried her nose in Jack's neck and inhaled, the scent of the fifty first century pheromones making her nostalgic. He reached behind his back, taking her right hand in his own and curling it into his chest. His fingers twisted the wedding ring on her right middle finger. There was no doubt in her mind the same memory was running through their minds.

_June 1920… _

It was a warm summer day, the perfect day for a wedding even if it was overcast. The happy couple had departed the church amid a flurry of rice and cheers, setting out for a mysterious honeymoon. The groom had made all the arrangements and had refused to utter a word. Playfully blindfolding his bride, he'd driven for hours, their new Tin Lizzie motoring along at a dizzying sixty kilometers an hour.

Nearly six hours later, the groom pulled up to a small craftsman style cottage on the shores of the River Seiont in north Wales. He leapt out of the car, bounding over to the passenger side to open the door for his bride. She was still wearing her wedding gown, and grinning from ear to ear. He helped her out of the car.

"Keep them closed! I mean it!" he said with a playful laugh as he tugged at the blindfold.

"If I fall and get mud on my dress…" she said laughing as well, dizzy with excitement as she felt her new husband's hands cover her eyes.

"I've got you," he said in her ear, voice solid and reassuring. "You won't fall."

"What are you up to, Jack Harkness?" she asked, laughing again, stumbling a little on the gravel drive, strong hands holding her up.

"Just a few more steps…" he said as he manoeuvered her into position, standing on the gravel drive just far enough away so she could see the entire house. "Okay… open your eyes, Will."

She laughed and clapped her hands. "You let us a whole cottage!"

He chuckled and she turned to look at him, confused.

"No, it's ours. Home," he said, almost a sound of awe in his voice.

"Jack! You didn't!" she squealed. He barked out a laugh as she ran up the porch steps. Too often, his young bride's eyes looked old and haggard but sometimes they sparkled like brilliant stars. He'd made it his mission in life to make those eyes sparkle as often as possible.

A smug smile on his face, he leaned against the front doorway, dangling the keys from his fingers. "I did."

With a hearty laugh, she snatched the keys from him and opened the front door, letting it swing inwards. The joy on her face changed and turned to worry. "But what about your work in Cardiff?"

The old haggard look had returned and Jack would have none of it. Not today.

"I'll manage. _We'll_ manage," he said, firmly. "I just want you to be happy."

She looked at him in disbelief and then back up at the house, the broad smile had once again found its place on her face. She took a step towards the door.

"Oh, no you don't!" he said before she could step through. He reached out, throwing one arm around her shoulders and the other swept her underneath her legs, lifting her off the ground as she let out a shriek of surprise followed by gales of laughter.

"Jack!" she gasped out between laughs.

He stopped before the doorway, gazing into her almond shaped eyes, the flecks of gold in the honey brown dancing in the light of dusk. His face suddenly serious. "I love you, Will. I'll love you forever."

"I love you too," she said sincerely, running her fingertips down his cheek. A strange look crossed her face, as it always did when he said such things. The old and haggard look was back again. "Forever is a long time, Jack."

He was stuck here in this time. He would have to wait a long time for the Doctor but that didn't mean he couldn't make the most of it. He suppressed a sigh of frustration at her. He hadn't expected to fall in love with this bright Irish firecracker but he had. He swore he'd do his best to be a good twentieth century man and husband. He'd even respected the ancient customs and tonight would be their first time sharing a bed. Wasn't it what every woman in this backward century wanted, the promise of forever? He didn't want to start this again, not today, not now, not when they were supposed to be happy.

"Yeah it is. How about we work on right now?"

"Right now sounds good," she said smiling.

He watched her eyes darken. He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and kissed her as he boldly strode through the threshold with her in his arms.

_Present day Cardiff… _

Miranda remembered their wedding night vividly. She'd played the blushing bride, demure and chaste. Jack had played the eager yet gentle groom. Their mutual acts had been far from perfect and by morning it was clear to both of them that it certainly wasn't the first time for either of them. They'd both laughed over it. Now that she knew the entire truth, Miranda smiled. If she had known the whole story back then it would have explained a great deal. Jack was one of the best lovers she'd ever had.

He kissed the top of her head again and let go of her. He walked her to the door of his office and opened it. She stepped through and began to steel herself against what she would have to do tonight. The idea wasn't a pleasant one. The two of them often took advantage of each other's immortalities, using it in any way they could in the field. In the years since she'd started to work for Torchwood, she and Jack had done a lot of things they weren't proud of and some things that haunted their dreams. They'd even done things that Miranda was certain had further assured her place in perdition. But this was different. Miranda would be performing a procedure on Jack that she knew would kill him. She'd done it before but it still twisted her stomach. Their marriage may have been an unholy catastrophe, but she loved the man. It was with a heavy sigh that she returned to the autopsy bay to write her report on the latest victim and she heard Jack call Ianto into his office.

It wasn't long before the sounds of muffled shouting reached her ears and then the bang of Jack's office door. She braced herself. She knew precisely where Ianto Jones was headed. _My turn now…_

"Have you completely lost your mind, Mandy?!" Ianto said as he entered the autopsy bay. "Jack said this is your bloody idea!"

_And thank you Jack for throwing me under the bus… _"Ifan-"

"No! I am not going to stand by and let you fucking kill him!" Ianto shouted. "You don't even know if we can obtain any useful information from her and you're willing to just throw Jack's life away for it!"

"We won't know until we try. She understands us. She's just unwilling to talk. Jack and I both feel it is worth it," she said, putting authority into her voice. She was second in command here and while Ianto was responding to this as an angry lover, she needed to maintain her authority. It wasn't like Ianto to blur the lines between his personal and professional lives but Jack's dying always hit a nerve with the Welshman. The idea of Jack's immortality being exploited in any way disgusted Ianto and Miranda wasn't surprised this was his reaction.

"You're going to kill him," Ianto shouted. "How can you do that to him, Mandy? You love him too!"

"The parasite may need the fluid for its own survival. It's the only leverage we have," she said, standing up from her desk chair.

"Jack's life isn't leverage to gain intelligence!" Ianto snapped.

"He will come back," she said, calmly.

"Fuck you! Don't give me that load of bollocks! I see what coming back does to you two!" he shouted.

"I do what is necessary, Ifan, as does Jack," she said, trying to maintain her patience and her calm.

Ianto took two long strides. For a second, Miranda thought he might strike her. She saw his right hand twitching. Instead, he just loomed over her.

"You cold hearted bitch!" he shouted in her face.

Miranda could see this was going no where. There would be no reasoning with Ianto and he would never be able to see it from Jack or Miranda's perspective. Miranda knew that one day Torchwood would kill the Welshman and when Ianto Jones died, he would join the Game. She had felt the immortal potential in Ianto the moment she'd met him but Ianto was not immortal now. He couldn't see things from an immortal point of view.

She narrowed her eyes and pulled the last card she had - second in command. Puffing out her chest and lifting her chin, she leaned forward pushing back against his aggression. He leaned again, pushing back. She held his gaze, unblinking and unwavering. Ianto Jones was a half a foot taller than her but the raw masculinity nor the height intimidated her. In a dick measuring contest with Miranda Ryan, any man would lose.

"If you think I do this lightly, you are mistaken. So, you will mind your tongue, Jones. Captain Harkness and I are in charge here. The decision is ours and we do not need to explain nor justify it to you. Now get back to work," she said coldly, pointing up the autopsy bay stairs.

Miranda saw the rage stewing in Ianto's eyes but she held his gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ianto's right shoulder twitch and, again, she wondered if Ianto's formidable right hook was coming for her. The Welshman was nearly trembling with rage.

His voice was like ice as he said, "Yes, ma'am."

"Dismissed," she snapped.

Ianto turned on his heel and stormed away.


	11. Chapter 11

During a short meeting over lunch, the team had discussed the case. Gwen and Fish were still examining the CCTV footage but had nothing significant to report since they were still trying to see the big picture of Jessica Rees. The CCTV footage was always one of their greatest tools but combing through the footage was always tedious and time consuming. Gwen and Fish's reactions to Miranda's plan were nearly as vehement as Ianto's but Jack and Miranda were both firm in their decision. As with Ianto, the two of them had pulled rank but decided not to wait until the evening. After the lunch meeting, they ordered Gwen and Fish out of the Hub so that Miranda could perform the procedure on Jack with only Ianto by his side. They would be recalled once Jack had revived.

Down in the autopsy bay, Miranda laid out her instruments and the appropriate imaging device as Jack laid down on the autopsy table. She needed everything at her fingertips. She wanted this to be done as fast as possible. Even though her choice of sedative was meant to minimize the chance of seizure, Jack was restrained. His arms and legs were strapped down securely to the table and there were straps across his legs and chest. Ianto had seen Jack stamp back terror and panic as the restrains had been placed. Jack had told Ianto about the Year that Never Was and what he'd endured at the hands of The Master. Seeing Jack strapped to the table had made Ianto sick. He was laying further up on the table than normal, his head hanging off the end. The block that normally laid under the neck of the bodies Miranda autopsied was under his neck. Ianto was seated next to him, holding his hand. He had said nothing to Miranda and wouldn't even look in her direction.

"Jack you don't have to do this," Ianto pleaded.

"Ianto, please," Jack said as he closed his eyes.

Ianto swallowed the lump in his throat as he squeezed Jack's hand. He leaned, resting his forehead against the side of Jack's and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Ianto, forever," Jack whispered back.

Miranda took a deep breath as she prepared the medicines she needed, drawing up a high dosage of the sedative she'd chosen and then a lethal dosage of a stronger anaesthetic. She'd already inserted a canula into Jack's arm.

She squeezed Jack's hand and looked into his eyes. He nodded once as much as the block under his neck would allow and then locked his gaze with Ianto's. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was and how much she loved him but she held back. These moments were for Ianto and Jack and she was not going to intrude. She was the malefactor here. Steeling herself, she injected the sedative and Jack's body relaxed, his eyes fluttering shut. Miranda heard Ianto restrain a small sob.

Acting quickly, she knelt down beneath Jack's head and positioned the scanner's screen so she could see it. She sliced into Jack's scalp, exposing the bone and then bore a small hole into it with the drill, seeing Ianto jump at the noise out of the corner of her eye. His jaw was tight and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. His head was buried in Jack's shoulder.

Watching the screen carefully, Miranda inserted the long needle into Jack's brain slowly, watching it advance on the display. It wasn't long before she'd reached her destination, the end of the needle entering the ventricle, the open space inside of Jack's brain. Swallowing on a dry throat, Miranda pulled back on the syringe attached to the end of the needle and the clear fluid began to flow. When the syringe was full, Miranda removed the needle slowly and stood up, examining its contents. Jack was hooked into the medical monitoring equipment and the alarms were beginning to blare, the sound of frantic beeping filling the autopsy bay. She put the syringe down onto the instrument tray and picked up the other syringe filled with the lethal anaesthetic, injecting it into Jack quickly. The alarms continued to blare but Miranda turned them off, watching the readout as Jack's heart rate plummeted and then stopped. She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked against the tears prickling her own eyes. She let her fingers trail across the back of Jack's hand for a moment.

Her head snapped up when Ianto barked, "Don't you fucking touch him."

Her voice low and unsteady, she said, "Ifan-"

"Don't. Get the fuck out of here," Ianto snarled as he started unbuckling Jack's restraints.

Miranda collected the syringe and fled towards the east stairs. She paused for a moment, inhaling sharply and then exhaling slowly as she rolled her shoulders. She sent up a silent prayer that all of this hadn't been for nothing. Squaring her shoulders, she descended down to the cells.

The creature was in the same exact place and position as she'd been this morning, in the corner hugging her knees. Miranda twisted the needle off the end of the syringe and then opened the small slot that Ianto had used for the foot tray. It took a few moments but she definitely caught the alien's attention. The girl sprinted up and darted for the syringe. Miranda slammed the slot closed, staring down the alien.

"We talk first," Miranda said.

The alien glared at her and then punched the glass. All of the cells were lined with clear ballistic glass and it held firm against the tantrum.

"Did you fall through the rift?" Miranda asked and the alien didn't answer her. Miranda was patient. She held the alien's gaze and waited. It was a few minutes before the alien spoke.

"We were not here and then we were here," the alien said.

"How many of you are there?" she asked.

"One," the alien said.

"You came through the rift alone?" she asked. If there was more than one, they were in serious trouble.

"We came," she repeated.

Confused by the plural pronoun, Miranda decided to rephrase her question.

"How many of you fell through the rift?" she asked.

"One," the alien repeated.

Miranda felt like punching the glass herself. This alien's concept of identity and self was likely different than that of humanity's.

"Where is the other of your kind?" Miranda asked, switching questions.

"We are here," she said.

"What is your planet of origin?" Miranda asked, still frustrated.

The alien didn't answer her, just stared at the syringe in her hand. Miranda repeated her question but the alien only took a few steps backwards. The tentacle that Miranda had severed earlier shot out of the girl's mouth with surprising speed. It seems the appendage had regenerated in the short time she'd been imprisoned in the Torchwood cells. The end slammed into the ballistic glass with a dull thud and the girl let out a shriek-like howl. The clear glass was still undamaged.

"What is your planet of origin? Does your species have means of space travel so we may return you home?" she asked, trying to keep her tone diplomatic.

To her surprise, the alien smiled.

"Your species exceeds expectations," the alien said. "You are definitive. You are abundant. You are easily learned and easily used. We will flourish here."

_Oh that doesn't sound good_… If this alien could communicate with its own kind across space, the human race could be facing invasion and enslavement.

"Do you have means of communicating with your people?" Miranda asked, trying to keep her tone interested but unconcerned.

"We grow," the alien said. "You will release us."

"You are our prisoner. You have committed crimes against our people. You have violated our laws," Miranda said.

The alien didn't answer Miranda but gave her a look that she thought was slightly smug.

"Where is the other of your kind? The one who was here before you?" Miranda asked, hoping that she could get more out of this girl.

"We are here," the girl said.

"Where are you?" Miranda asked, changing her wording.

"We are here," she answered, looking puzzled.

"Where else are you?"

"We are here and we are there," the alien infested girl said, the puzzled look deepening.

"You are here. Where else are you right now?" Miranda asked. She was hopeful that this alien parasite may have some sort of telepathic link with the others of its species that they could use to locate the other parasite still at large. But she hoped that link wasn't strong enough for them to communicate with the rest of their species.

"We are here and we are also here," the girl said.

Miranda decided this interrogation was over. The circular discussion was getting no where. She wondered if she should wait for Jack or one of the others but she could lose the parasite's trust if she didn't offer her the syringe now. There was no way she would perform the procedure on Jack again. She'd learned little. Jack hadn't given his life for nothing but it was far from an equal exchange. The alien's wildly different concept of self was a significant barrier and she doubted that anyone else would get any further. She opened the food tray slot and rolled the syringe into the cell towards the alien who pounced on it. The long tentacle snaked its way out of the girl's mouth, piercing the plastic and draining the syringe's contents.


	12. Chapter 12

Gwen and Fish both returned to the Hub in the mid-afternoon. It had taken Jack nearly an hour to revive from the procedure. The two of them immediately set to work on the CCTV footage. Tonight their work was hampered by several Weevil calls as the rain drove the restless up onto the city streets. It was late at night when they all finally gathered in the boardroom, weary and exhausted. After the last of the pizza was cleared away by Ianto, Jack stood up, leaning heavily on the table. There were dark circles under the immortal's eyes and he was still pale.

"Will? You want to go over your interrogation of our prisoner?" he said.

None of the team looked at Miranda, seated at the foot of the table. They were all still angry with her. She tapped the tablet in front of her, bringing up the internal CCTV footage of her interrogation.

"The parasite is sentient and intelligent. Our bribe was successful," she said, tapping the play button. After the video was done playing, she said, "As you can see the alien's concept of personal identity is vastly different from our own. Their species is likely highly interdependent with little or no concept of the individual self. The semantic and conceptual differences made the interrogation difficult."

"And before you all go thinking this was a failure, we did get valuable information here," Jack said. His comment was mostly directed at his lover, who was seated in his usual place at Jack's right. It had been a long time since Gwen had seen Ianto Jones this angry. The anger wasn't directed at Jack. The Welshman was still angled towards his lover and Gwen knew if she peeked under the boardroom table that she'd see the tip of Ianto's dress shoe in contact with Jack's boot. Like the rest of them, Ianto wouldn't even look in Miranda's direction.

Without turning to the rest of the team, Miranda continued to stare at the surface of the table. Her voice was measured, as if she knew the Welsh powder keg at the end of the table would like nothing more than to blow up in her direction. "The alien has no desire to return to its home planet. I believe that whatever species they are using on their own world as hosts is inferior to us. It is likely the other parasite or parasites still at large have the same view."

"They've found the perfect colony," Gwen whispered.

Miranda nodded. "Species with similar personal identity concepts that we've encountered in the past are generally telepathically linked to each other. My original concern was that this parasite, in telepathic communication with the rest of its species, could bring an invasion down upon the human race."

"Christ," Fish muttered, hanging his head.

"My impression from the interrogation is that this parasite is not telepathically linked to the other and Jack agrees," Miranda said.

"Assuming there is only one parasite out there," Fish said.

"There's got to be only one," Gwen said. "I think we'd have more bodies if there was more of them. And I think Miranda's right about the parasite staying in one host. I only did a quick check from what I'm seeing, there aren't bodies or missing persons turning up with the changes we've seen the parasite's making."

"Agreed," Jack said. "We can't say for sure but Will has some theories about the wound size."

"The characteristic hole in the back of the skull has been steadily growing since the turn of the last century, possibly because the parasite itself has been growing. There isn't a lot of data there but I'm willing to make a bit of a leap here. The body that we found outside of the normal pattern, Andrew Boyle, had a wound significantly smaller than the others," she said, steepling her fingers in front of her.

"Two wound sizes, two parasites," Fish said. "We have one, the other one is still out there."

"What did you and Gwen find on the CCTV?" Jack asked.

"Fish and I have been looking and there is a lot of footage to go through. We didn't find anything when we followed Boyle, there was no evidence of his attacker. If you and Miranda are right and he's been here over a hundred years, then he'll know how to avoid detection. We hit a dead end there. The missing girl was where we got lucky," Gwen said, tapping the tablet.

Several images of the girl came up and Gwen said sadly, "Her name is Jessica Rees. She's nineteen, well thirty two now. Reported missing 27 December, 1999 by her Mum. She went to a friend's on Boxing day and never came home."

"She hasn't aged a day," Ianto said, squinting at the pictures.

"Any theories there, Will?" Jack asked.

"It's like I said before, the parasite is likely changing her physiologically in some way. I can't make any determination without tests and right now I doubt she'd consent to anything. I consider the alien too dangerous to attempt to do anything to her forcibly," Miranda said with a shrug.

"Once we had her picture, I ran facial recognition and found this," Fish said, leaning over and tapping the tablet. "These are a few good images we have of her from the past twelve years. As you can see, there have been clear changes to her body."

Miranda leaned forward in her chair. "The arms and legs are longer. The neck is elongated. Her face is nearly the same though. She's more gracile, slimmer…"

"It was easy to follow her along the cameras. Gwen was right, she's been working as a prostitute and living on the streets," Fish said, sadly. "A few days before I tripped over that first body, we found this. It's from a camera in Grangetown where we've found pretty much all the bodies so far."

Fish tapped the tablet and a video feed came up. It was a night time view, a nearly deserted street. The girl was dressed in the same exact clothing she was in now. She was just walking down the street and a man was coming in the opposite direction. He looked young, about in his early twenties. Ianto, Miranda and Jack all sat up straighter when they noticed that the man's arms and legs were clearly elongated, far more so than the girl's. The two figured stopped and stared at each other and then walked off together out of view of the camera. Fish switched to another feed, playing the footage.

"They went down this alley," Fish said. "There was only half a view but you can see-"

"They're shagging," Ianto said.

"There was no exchange of money we could see," Gwen said.

"We tried to get a better angle, but couldn't find anything," Fish said with a sigh. "We did get this angle afterwards."

The video played and they all watched as the alien girl was leaving the alley, backing up onto the street. She opened her mouth and the tentacle snaked out of her mouth slowly, twisted, and then slid back into place.

"When I enhanced the footage, I got this," Fish said. He brought up the enlarged and enhanced image. "You can see that tentacle thing is wrapped around something else and it looks like another tentacle."

"Goddess below," Miranda breathed. "We could be in serious trouble here, Jack."

"What do you mean, Will?" he asked, alarmed.

"If she's mated, the other parasite could be pregnant as well," she said.

"That's a bloke there, Miranda," Gwen said, "and you said the girl's cervix was closed."

"The host is a bloke. The parasite may not have a gender. Many complex parasites on Earth are hermaphroditic, capable of producing both sperm and egg," Miranda explained.

"But you said it's using the girl's uterus," Ianto said. "He's a bloke, he won't have one."

Jack let out a small cough and shifted in his seat a bit.

"When I scanned the girl and found the embryos, I didn't find any changes to the uterus itself aside from the change in size. It's using it for convenience. It's a large, hollow organ that's capable of expansion. There's no indication that the uterus is performing its normal biological function. It's just housing," she said. "The hosts' gender may be irrelevant. They could have made some sort of exchange with the tentacle appendages."

"Why engage in intercourse then?" Fish asked, jerking his head at the paused video.

"No idea," Miranda said. "There are a number of chemicals secreted during sexual arousal and release, that may be the reasoning there. She did say that we were definitive."

"What difference does that make?" Ianto asked, impatient.

"The definitive host of a parasite is where the parasite completes its life cycle… the host that it reproduces in," Miranda said.

"As informative as this biology lesson is, I'd like to focus on finding this guy," Jack said.

"Sorry, Jack," Fish said. "The angles of his face aren't great but we've got the facial recognition program looking for him now. We're hoping that we can find a match and get a better image."

"Jack? Does he look familiar to you?" Miranda asked, pointing up at the screen. "Fish can you enlarge that a bit?"

"Will, why would he look familiar to me?" Jack asked, turning his head to look at the enlarged picture. "Hey… he does!"

"Where have we seen him?" she asked. "Fish can you clean that picture up any?"

"That's as good as it's going to get, Evie," Fish said, startled the two immortals recognised the man at all. The picture was grainy and slightly out of focus. Fish had no way of knowing that that was precisely why they both recognised the man.

Miranda's eyes widened. "Fish, desaturate the image, make it black and white."

Puzzled, Fish did as he was told, removing the colour from the picture.

"No! It can't be!" Jack gasped, getting up out of his chair.

"The face is a little different, thinner," Jack said, tilting his head.

"When was that, Jack? Twenty one? Maybe twenty two?" she asked, standing up and crossing over to the screen to get a better look at the image.

"Something like that," he said.

"Oi!" Fish, Gwen and Ianto all said simultaneously, the mortal members of the team losing their patience.

"Sorry," Jack said as Miranda went back to her seat at the foot of the table.

"It's Gareth Harding," Miranda said.

"Who?" Fish and Gwen asked simultaneously.

"He was a film actor back in the tens," Ianto said, his eyebrows raised. "He started in silent films and later spoken ones. I thought he died."

"No. It was big local news - Welsh film star vanishes from Cardiff set…" Jack said shaking his head. "Do you remember what happened, Will?"

"No, just that he'd gone off somewhere and was never seen again," she said. "Check Wikipedia or Google image, Fish. You may be able to get something there."

Skeptical, Fish tapped on his tablet and googled the appropriate name. The face popped up and Fish had to admit that it was almost a dead match.

"I can't believe you two remember a random film star you saw almost a hundred years ago," Gwen laughed.

"There are lots of film stars now, Gwen but back then, when the pictures had just started, it was a very small group of people," Miranda said, giving a one shouldered shrug. "A film would only have a handful of people in it."

Jack rubbed at one of his eyes with the back of his hand. "Gwen, Fish? It's late. Fish, tomorrow I want you to keep at the CCTV. This is a great lead. Gwen? I know it's another long shot but look into the police files around Harding's disappearance if there are any. Don't spend too much time on it though."

"Do you want me to give Harding's picture to the police?" Gwen asked.

Jack shook his head. "This thing is going to be dangerous. I don't want to have to retcon half the of the South Wales Police force. And I don't want to see either of you before lunch. Good night everyone."

After Jack left the room, the rest of them dispersed slowly. Ianto wandered out, following Jack into his office and shutting the door behind them.

"Is that all Mandy found out? Some useful facts about culture?" Ianto snapped, rounding on Jack the minute the door had latched.

Jack rubbed at his forehead. His head was absolutely pounding. He was still exhausted from reviving and chasing Weevils across Cardiff and he was not in the mood for more of his lover's ire. "Yan, please… It's already done."

"What useful strategic information did we get out of that, Jack?" Ianto spat at him. "Why you and Mandy are always so eager to throw your lives away is beyond me!"

"We come back, Yan," Jack repeated.

"Fish is right, Jack. There's a world of difference between 'can't die' and 'eternally resurrecting'. The two of you play cannon fodder too often-"

Jack had had enough. He snapped out, "Ianto. Enough. You don't understand."

"I understand what it does to you and Mandy, dying and coming back!" Ianto shouted. "Two weeks ago Weevils got both of you! The week before it was that faulty weapon pack exploding! And before that it was that poisonous worm! And only the next day-"

"Ianto, STOP!" Jack snapped. The pain in his head and his frustration finally winning over. "Those Weevils were heading for Gwen and you. That weapon pack could have killed Fish. And that poisonous worm was headed for Gwen when Will grabbed it. That's four times we've kept you all from dying by dying ourselves. Do you think Will wants to load any of you into a drawer downstairs? Do you think I want to tell Rhys that Gwen's never coming home? Or call up Anna and feed her some cover story about why her brother is dead?"

"The cost to us is always worth it, Ifan," Miranda said from the door. It was the first time she'd ever entered Jack's closed office without knocking.

He rounded on her. "I don't remember inviting you into this conversation. Get the fuck out of here, Mandy. This is between me and Jack."

"No," she said, standing her ground. She lifted her head defiantly and said, "No one knows more about Torchwood than you do. Since its inception, on average, how many Torchwood Three employees die per year?"

"I don't see-" he started to say but Miranda interrupted him.

"Answer the fucking question, Ifan," she snapped.

"One point five," he blurted, easily remembering the figure. This was ridiculous. What was the point of this?

"When was the longest span Torchwood went without losing an agent?" she asked.

"1962 until 1968."

"Who was Torchwood during those years?"

"Tabitha Rutherford. Charles Cromwell. Gabriel Morris. You and Jack…" Ianto trailed off, finally seeing the point. He ran through the dates and figures in his head. With only two exceptions, every time Jack and Miranda were in the employ of Torchwood, no agents were lost. Those two exceptions, Gabriel Morris and Sarah Trowbridge, were also deaths that Jack and Miranda could have prevented. Ianto knew the deceitful circumstances behind Trowbridge's death but the death of Gabriel Morris was just as tragic. Gabriel had been with Torchwood less than a year before he stepped between Miranda and a bullet. The twenty one year old had bled to death in her arms while she'd waited for an ambulance. He was the reason Miranda refused to hide her immortality from the team and the reason she had gone medical school.

"Me and Jack," she said simply as she gave him a pointed look. Miranda softened her voice. "You will listen to me, Ianto Jones, because this is the last time I want to have this conversation. Being able to give our lives over and over to save others? It's the only gift in our curse. It is a sacrifice that Jack and I gladly make. You think we make the choice lightly as if on a whim? We don't. And if you think that Jack and I will stand idly by while our immortality can prevent that of others, you have clearly misjudged the quality of our character. You stay here with Jack and at Torchwood because your life is yours to do with as you will. Well so is ours."

Miranda spun on her heel and left the room. Ianto would understand one day.


	13. Chapter 13

Fish was collecting his things as he heard the muffled argument from Jack's office. He lingered a bit, loitering as if reluctant to leave, though he knew he should probably get out of the line of fire. Without thinking, he reached for his mobile and started to dial Henry's number, stopping himself just in time. It was well past midnight. He knew that the two immortals of Torchwood didn't sleep much. Henry was immortal, maybe he would be awake? After looking at the clock again, Fish decided against it. He didn't want Henry to think him rude.

Disappointed, he started to pack away his things again, when an impulse took hold of him. He sat back down at his workstation and brought up the CCTV footage of the Plass. He backed the footage up to yesterday, around when Henry had met him for lunch. Henry had been facing one of the cameras as he had waited for Fish, leaning against one of the posts in the middle of the Plass. His ankles were crossed and his arms were folded across his chest. He let the footage play and then he saw the moment he was looking for. A broad smile spread across Henry's face when he caught sight of Fish walking across the pavement. Smiling himself, Fish paused the video, enlarging and enhancing the image. A stab of longing shot through his chest as he reached out, brushing the tips of his fingers across Henry's face on the screen.

"Fish!" Jack shouted from his office door. "I said go home!"

Fish snapped his hand away from the screen, feeling much like a small boy caught red handed in some mischief.

"I'm leaving now, Jack," he said, closing the image so that Jack wouldn't see. He felt utterly mortified when he turned around to see Miranda looking at him with her head tilted.

"Call him, Fish," she said.

"It's past midnight, Evie," he said, roughly thrusting his things into his messenger bag.

"He won't care if you wake him," she insisted, "and he's not likely asleep in any case. Call him."

"Evie-"

"Joe," she interrupted, saying each word like a jab, "Call. Him."

The immortal woman turned on her heel and disappeared down the north stairs, towards her own rooms. Fish could count on one hand how many times he'd heard her call him by name. He took out his mobile and dialed Henry's number. The call rang and rang… and then the answer phone message began to play. Disappointed but still glad to hear Henry's voice, Fish left a short message, apologising for calling so late, expressing hope that he hadn't woken him and then he disconnected the call before the words, 'I miss you' could escape his lips. It was laughable. He'd only seen Henry yesterday. And why should he miss someone he only met a few days ago? The confused feelings rose up in him again. What was he doing? Why was he feeling this way? What on earth was it about this person that was drawing him in? Fish had never been attracted to a man in his life. He sat down heavily on his desk chair, dropped the mobile onto his workstation and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"Fish? You okay?" Jack asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Fish jerked up, startled. The immortal man, who usually stomped everywhere he went, had somehow managed to sneak up on him. He was still very waxen looking and the dark circles under his eyes were darker than before.

"Woah, hey!" Jack said. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Jack," he said, shaking his head and reaching for the strap of his bag. "I'm leaving now."

"What's wrong, Fish?" Jack asked, his tone was fatherly.

It was useless lying. While he worked at ECO UK, he'd kept his personal life separate from his professional one. It was the way he liked it. But that had all changed when he'd started working for Torchwood. These people were his family and he wouldn't have it any other way. "I just met this bloke-"

"Will's friend? She told me," Jack said. "She had to. We had to do a small background check, Fish."

Fish nodded, knowing that when Miranda had started dating Nora Ashline last year, Ianto and Jack had done the same with her. "Different ways of falling off a mountain," Fish muttered.

"Is that what's bothering you? That it's another man?" Jack asked and Fish could hear the annoyed disbelief in his voice.

"Go on, Jack… call me narrow minded and twenty first century and tell me that I'm too wrapped up in quaint categories," Fish snapped, not wanting to hear Jack's usual fifty first century soap box commentary. He jerked the strap of his bag over his shoulder, being overly rough as he settled the bag against his hip and adjusted the strap across his chest.

"Okay, I don't get the whole sexual identity crisis you people go through in this century. I admit it," Jack said. Before Jack could continue, Fish's mobile started to ring. It was Henry. Fish reached for the mobile but Jack put his hand over it, blocking him from answering the call.

Jack said sternly, "Will told me that you told her being forty and alone made you a loser. How big a loser do you think you're going to be if you let Henry turn into a regret?"

Jack picked up the mobile himself, accepted the call and passed the phone to Fish. The immortal man shook his head as he walked back towards his office. Fish could hear Henry saying his name and it brought him out of his thoughts.

"Henry, hello," he said.

Henry said, sounding a little bleary, "I'm glad you called."

Fish felt his heart sink. "I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Henry insisted. "You always can call, no matter how late."

"I'm about to knock off-"

"God in Heaven, Joe! You're still at work!" Henry cried out.

"Yes, but I'm leaving now," Fish said. Before he lost his nerve he said, "I know it's late but I was hoping… I mean wondering-"

"Do you remember the room number?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Yeah… five twenty six," he said as his heart leapt. "I'll see you in a bit."

He disconnected the call and tossed the mobile into his bag.

It was nearly one in the morning when Fish knocked on Henry's hotel room door, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. He'd sat in his car in the car park for over half an hour, thinking, procrastinating and working up the courage to enter the hotel. _Christ what the fuck am I doing…_

Henry opened the door and Fish's eyes went wide for a second. Henry's hair was no longer hanging down past his ears, it was drastically shorter. He was wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans and t-shirt. Fish felt completely awkward, his first assessment of Henry was correct. Despite the more adult hair cut, in different clothes he looked like a teenager. _He is a teenager… sort of_…

"Come in, Joe," Henry said. "Drink?"

"Please," Fish said as he wandered into the room. He walked over towards the table where it seems Henry had been working while he had waited for Fish to arrive. The table was covered with a number of pencil sketches and a few open sketchbooks. Pencils and erasers littered the table. Fascinated, Fish looked at the sketches. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw the faces of Jack and Ianto staring up at him. Henry had captured the two men perfectly, even the gentle loving look the lovers often shared. It seems he'd drawn the two men in a variety of poses, as if trying to decide on something.

"What's this, Henry?" Fish asked.

"A commission, for Mao-Lin," Henry said handing him a bottle of beer. "She said the painting is to be a gift. It was one of the reasons I was visiting her, she wanted me to meet them."

Fish smiled at the thoughtfulness of the gift but raised his eyebrow when he saw that some of the printed image captures Henry was referencing were from the Hub's CCTV. If Jack knew about this, he'd be furious. He was about to step away from the table when he saw a sketchbook under the papers. The other sketches covered the book but Fish recognised the portion of the drawing he saw. He pushed the other sketches out of the way and turned the book. It was of fine quality, bound in leather. The pages were strange. The ones at the beginning of the book were yellowed with age. The pages open before him were crisp and white. He flipped through half a dozen of the most recent pages.

Him. All of the drawings were of him. There was a myriad of images, angles and focuses. Some of the sketches were of his whole face and some of just parts. Some of the images were merely gestural while others showed a shocking level of detail and accuracy. One sketch took up nearly half a page and was just his left eye, crow's feet and all. Fish found himself smiling at one that was just a portion of the left side of his face. He guessed it was the first glimpse Henry had gotten of him.

When Fish looked up, he was surprised to see Henry blushing. The immortal man took the sketchbook from him and closed it.

"You're very talented, Henry," Fish said, "These are remarkable."

Henry cradled the book against his chest. It was obviously something very precious to him. "My father never approved of my artistic past times. He had far more grand plans for me."

"What was he like?" Fish asked.

"He was my father," Henry said with a shrug. He turned away from Fish, stowing the sketchbook into a messenger bag on the sofa.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked," Fish said, feeling his cheeks warm.

"You're curious. I asked you about your family," Henry said with a shrug. Seeing more questions were bubbling inside Fish's mind, he said, "Go ahead and ask."

"You didn't die from tuberculosis did you?" Fish asked.

Henry shook his head. "No. There were many who disapproved of my father's plan to have me placed into the line of succession because I was illegitimate. Some of his closest counselors and friends plotted against my life. They succeeded. I was poisoned, slowly, over a few months. My weakened state was what caused me to become consumptive. They slipped me the final dose of poison when I was on my deathbed, knowing it would be assumed the illness was what claimed me."

Fish wondered how many historians would gladly give their right arm for that information. He looked around the suite, feeling more awkward at asking such a personal question. He saw a canvas leaning against a wooden shipping box.

"Your work?" he asked.

Henry nodded. "I'm having them shipped to London tomorrow."

"May I?"

"Please," Henry said waving towards the canvases.

Fish walked over to the box and lifted one of the canvases out by the edge. It was a couple, a man and a woman, swimming underwater. The colours were vibrant and Henry's brush strokes had filled the painting with movement and life. Fish replaced the canvas and lifted out another. It was a small boy diving through water, air bubbles streaming from his mouth and nose, a look of utter joy on his face that Henry had captured perfectly. Each canvas was similar, the artist's point of view from beneath the surface of the water, the subject the swimmers.

"These are beautiful, Henry," Fish said. He kept returning to the painting of the child, trying to remember the last time he'd felt such joyous abandon. It was something often lost in adulthood. Fish remembered a painting in Miranda's flat at the Hub. It was of a pair of dancers, a woman in a red dress being twirled by a man. The style was similar. Fish examined it every time he entered her rooms, it had always captivated him. "Evie has one of your paintings. It's in her flat."

"The woman in the red dress? Yes, an early work of this series," Henry said. "Mao-Lin owns many of my paintings."

"Why do you call her 'Mao-Lin'?" Fish asked.

"Why do you call her 'Evie'?" Henry countered with a smile.

Fish didn't answer and just smiled, going with his original assumption that the reasons behind the two questions were the same. He started looking around the room nervously.

Henry waved at the sofa and Fish sat down as he took a long draught from his beer bottle, wishing it was something stronger. Henry moved a few things off the sofa so he could sit beside him and then said, abruptly, "So did you have any other questions about what's on my Wikipedia page?"

Fish sputtered and coughed. "How did you-"

"I guessed," Henry said, patting Fish on the back. "I'm just sorry you had to see that dreadful portrait."

"It looks nothing like you," Fish said with a nervous laugh.

"It was the style of the time," Henry said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, Henry. I shouldn't have gone snooping, it was dishonest," Fish said, blushing again.

"It's fine, Joe," he said with a wide smile. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to order you something from room service?"

"No, I'm fine. I had dinner at work," Fish said as he stifled a yawn.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have come. You're exhausted and it's late," Henry said, concerned.

"No, I wanted to see you," he said, honestly. "Has Evie given you the fourth degree yet?"

"No. Mao-Lin often plays the role of annoying older sister for me but she's said nothing about our involvement to me. Has she said anything to you?" Henry asked and Fish could hear the touch of worry in his voice.

"No but I get the feeling she doesn't like the idea of this," Fish said, waving between the two of them and then he leaned forward, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. When he dropped his hands, the remark was out of his mouth before he could stop it, "I don't even know if I like the idea of this."

Hurt crossed Henry's face and Fish took Henry's hands in his.

"I didn't mean it like that, Henry. I just…" he trailed off, not sure what else to say. He took a breath and said, "I just have no idea what's going on in here," Fish tapped his temple and then his chest, "or in here right now and I don't like that."

"I don't want to confuse you, Joe," Henry said, pulling his hands out of Fish's grip and edging away from him on the sofa a bit.

"What was it like for you in the sixteenth century with other men?" Fish asked.

Henry sighed. "I was taught these urges were unnatural, that they were a sin against nature, that they defied the will of God and man. In my time, Joe, sodomy was punishable by death… a law enacted by my own father. My own struggle was made in a different time, under different circumstances. I don't think it's a good comparison."

Compared to what Henry had had to go through in his own time, Fish's own sexual identity crisis seemed tame. He scrubbed at his face and then turned to look at Henry, remembering the kiss they shared on the quay. He tried to imagine a time when something like that could have gotten him arrested or even executed. _Christ, it wasn't all that long ago…_

To Fish's annoyance, Henry seemed to be smothering a grin. "What's so bloody funny?"

"Forgive me, Joe, it's just that this is the first time my immortality has been less of an issue than my sex," Henry said unable to hide the grin any longer.

Fish barked out a bit of laughter at the remark, feeling the tension drain from the room. Henry shifted on the sofa, edging further away. He said, sadly, "Perhaps we're better off as just friends."

Fish felt his a fist tighten around his heart, surprised at how visceral the reaction was. Exasperated, he said, his voice rising, "I can't just be friends with you, Henry. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the second I met you! Christ, I've wanted to do nothing but kiss you since I got here!"

Fish suddenly found himself pressed back against the sofa and Henry's lips were on his. Startled, it took Fish a moment to respond and he did, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. Henry let out a low throaty moan and Fish felt himself instantly rock hard. He wrapped his arms around Henry's body and pressed the other man into him. There was more weight and it was differently distributed than what he was used to. There was no swell of breasts against his chest and as he let his hands drift down there was no fullness at the hips. The lips against his were thin and firm instead of plump and there was a brush of stubble against his chin. The most startling difference was Henry's erection pressing into his own but he didn't care about any of it. He didn't want it to ever end.

He ran his hands up and down Henry's sides and back, a little unsure of what to do or where this was going. He felt a stab of nerves as the implications of the bedroom mere metres away flooded his mind. Henry broke the kiss, pressed his hips into Fish's more firmly and latched his mouth onto Fish's neck. Fish let out a wordless shout of delight, losing the ability to think as he felt Henry untucking his shirt.

His body started to tremble and he'd unconsciously brought his leg up around Henry's hip, hooking it behind Henry's thigh. He used his leg to pull Henry's body into him closer. Fish let out a low moan as Henry's hands slid under the cloth, running over his skin. His skin tingled, hypersensitive, and each brush of Henry's fingers sent sparks of pleasure through him.

They kissed again, tongues battling. He felt Henry's thumbs graze his nipples and he moaned into Henry's lips, involuntarily pushing upward with his hips and Henry moaned in return. Henry started tugging on Fish's shirt, sliding it up so he could pull it over his head and Fish froze. Henry didn't miss the change in him.

"What's the matter, Joe? Am I rushing you?" Henry asked.

Fish didn't know how to answer. His whole body was alight with desire. He stared into Henry's lust blown eyes and knew that his own pupils had to be just as wide. If the person on top of him were a woman, Fish wouldn't be hesitating. Hell, he'd probably already be sprawled out nude on the bed with a condom wrapper in his teeth. But this was uncharted territory for him. He felt like an awkward teenager. No. He felt like a fumbling virgin all over again and he didn't like feeling that way. He wanted to please Henry and he had no idea how. And he had no idea how to explain that to Henry without embarrassment.

What scared him even more was the knowledge that what he wanted from Henry wasn't a fling or a rough and tumble one night stand. It wasn't just that he knew his first time with a man shouldn't be either. It was that, that wasn't what he wanted from Henry at all. He wanted to get to know him. He wanted a real relationship. When Fish had lingered in his car, he had thought long and hard about how he was reacting to Henry. He had tried to look at it as Ianto had explained it to him, removing Henry's gender from the equation. His conclusion had shaken and terrified him. He was falling in love with Henry - which was completely mad. Even without the issue of Henry's gender, Fish had only met this person three days ago. How could he feel this way already? And he had no idea how to explain that to Henry without sounding completely mental.

"No… It's not that…" Fish began but he had no idea how to continue, one explanation wounded his pride while the other made him seem mad. He decided that possibly insulting his bedroom skills and wounding his pride was probably the better option. "I have no idea what I'm doing here, Henry."

"I'm certain we could manage, Joe… but I'm in no rush," he said, softly, dipping his head to nuzzle at Fish's neck, his lips ghosting against the skin.

Fish shivered at the jolt of desire that shot through him and said shakily, "Keep doing that and I won't be able to stop myself."

Henry brought his head back up and after giving Fish one more tender kiss, he sat up. "Perhaps we need to take a step back. There's still a lot to talk about."

After giving himself a stern mental shake, Fish said, "You're right."

"It's my fault," Henry said, looking apologetic. "I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's not. It's not like you didn't do anything we both didn't want," Fish ran his hand through his hair, stamping down the lust and desire still clouding his mind. He still wanted Henry. He couldn't remember ever wanting someone so badly before in his life but Fish didn't want to rush things. It had always been that way when he'd found someone he wanted to get to know rather than merely sleep with. He would have preferred to get to know Henry before falling into bed with him but the pressure of time was on them. "You're leaving on Thursday?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I've already delayed my meetings in London as long as is possible."

A small lump formed in Fish's throat. _Three… no two days…_ If Fish was still working for ECO UK, he would have taken the time off and spent every second with Henry but Torchwood didn't afford him that luxury. He and Henry would have to make do with whatever time Fish could scrape together. And that time would be scarce even with the normal chaos of Torchwood but with the large complicated case they were currently working, it would be even less. Could he manage to get a day off? No, it would be impossible. The team was already working themselves to the bone and it showed no sign of changing.

Fish leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees and pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. _Bloody Torchwood…_ The rush from Henry pouncing on him was fading. A wash of fatigue crashed down on him and he let out a loud sigh. He knew their time was short and that they should use this time to talk but Fish was so exhausted he could barley form a coherent thought now. When he looked up at the clock, his heart fell when he saw it was well past two. He twisted his head when he felt the sofa shift. Henry had stood up on the sofa cushions and was manoeuvering himself behind Fish.

"Henry… what-"

"Just relax, Joe," Henry said as he sat down, sliding against the sofa back so he was seated behind Fish with the other man between his legs.

Strong fingers dug into Fish's shoulders, kneading the knotted muscles. His eyes slid shut and he couldn't stop the groan of appreciation that escaped his lips.

"Oh my God…" Fish breathed as Henry's fingers did positively decadent things to his shoulders and neck.

"You're exhausted and over-stressed," Henry chastised, leaning forward and kissing the back of Fish's neck. He continued to press his fingers into the knots in Fish's shoulders, kneading away the tension.

Fish reached up, grabbing Henry's wrists, stopping the blissful ministrations. He dragged Henry's hands forward, pressing the other man's hands into his chest. "Christ, stop that or I'm going to fall asleep."

"You should go home and sleep, Joe. Where's your flat? I'm calling you a taxi. You can't drive like this," Henry insisted, tightening his grip around Fish's shoulders, hugging him. He rested his cheek against the back of Fish's neck.

Fish let out a sigh of contentment, settling into the embrace. He could feel his stress and tension draining away just because of Henry's touch and presence. He remembered how his ex-fiancée, Olivia, had been able to do this but only after many months into their relationship. Fish shook his head again at the impossibility of how fast this was all happening. He felt safe and cared for and he hadn't felt like that in a long, long time. He felt so comfortable here in Henry's arms. It was like coming home. He realised Henry was still waiting for an answer.

"Roath," Fish said with dread. If Henry knew anything about Cardiff geography, he knew what the other man's reaction would be.

"That's on the other side of the city!" Henry exclaimed, lifting his head off Fish's back. "When do you have to report for work in the morning?"

"I try to be in by seven," Fish said, bracing himself for Henry's reaction.

"God in Heaven, Joe! It will take you nearly a half hour to get home! You'll only sleep a few hours! This is madness, you need your rest!" Henry protested.

"People are dying, Henry. This case, it's important," Fish explained, resting his hand against his forehead.

"Be that as it may, you're no use to anyone if you're so bone weary that you can't function!" Henry slid out from behind Fish and said, "You're staying here tonight."

"I thought we were taking a step back," Fish said but the quip didn't have as much wit behind it. Instead, it was dulled with fatigue.

"You may have the bed. I can sleep out here," Henry said, patting the sofa's back.

Fish desperately wanted to argue but he could feel himself almost falling asleep already. There was absolutely no way he could drive home safely. By the time a taxi arrived and he got home and into bed it would be ridiculously late. St. David's was much closer to the Hub than his flat. By removing his commute, he'd get over an hour more of sleep and that idea was far too tempting.

"I'll take the sofa," Fish said, as he toed off his trainers and dropped one of the throw pillows next to the sofa's arm.

Henry was weighing arguing further. The longer they quarreled about the sleeping arrangements, the longer Fish would be awake.

"We're mature adults, Joe. We can share the bed," Henry blurted suddenly.

Fish, at this point was too exhausted to argue. He nodded and stood up. He followed Henry into the adjoining bedroom and tugged his shirt up over his head. He was about to drop it onto the arm chair when he realised he had nothing to wear. He'd momentarily forgotten where he was. At home, he normally slept nude. He turned to Henry to tell him he was going to sleep on the sofa after all and saw Henry turned politely away from him with his arm stretched out towards him. In his hand was a pair of pyjama bottoms and a grey t-shirt. Fish accepted the clothes and changed quickly. Henry didn't turn around until he heard the linens on the bed being pulled down.

By the time Henry was changed and under the blankets, Fish was already laying flat on his back, his eyes closed… he was snoring softly. A smile played across Henry's lips as he watched Fish sleep for a few moments. He reached his hand out, laying it on the other man's chest just to watch it rise and fall and feel the beating of his heart. He suddenly realised he was being overly familiar and he jerked his hand back. He pressed his lips together and came to a decision. Satisfied that Fish was practically comatose, Henry got up and moved back into the other room, shutting the bedroom door as quietly as he could. Stepping out onto the balcony, he took out his mobile and dialed Miranda. It only took a few rings before the other immortal answered her phone.

"Your grace?" she asked, her voice rough with sleep.

"Mao-Lin," Henry said.

"Is something wrong? Are you all right?" Henry heard the alarm in her voice.

"I'm fine. I'm calling to let you know that Joe will be coming into work late tomorrow," Henry said firmly.

"Is Fish all right?" she exclaimed, he could almost hear her sitting up in bed.

"He is fine. He came by to talk. He was so dead on his feet that I didn't want to let him drive home," Henry snapped, losing his temper. Even though Miranda couldn't see him, he was gesticulating wildly as he spoke. "He is exhausted and practically burned out! How can you expect a man who left work after midnight to show up at seven the next morning?! That is utterly preposterous!"

"Your grace, I assure you, Fish's workaholic tendencies are his own. Jack had to order him to go home and told him not to come in before lunch," Miranda said, her voice patient and even.

"I'm sorry. Joe said he's usually into work before seven," Henry said.

"He usually is… of his own volition, your grace," she said. "Keep him there with you. We don't want to see him before noon."

"Thank you, Mao-Lin," Henry said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're most welcome. Perhaps with you as his watch dog, he will rest. Whenever we tell him to come in late we usually see him around nine," she said with a touch of amusement. "Good night, your grace."

Henry disconnected the call and shook his head. The man was working himself to the bone and Henry didn't understand it. When he went back into his suite, he called downstairs to cancel his wake-up call and he put the do not disturb sign onto the door. He went back into the bedroom and had to clap his hand over his mouth to stop from laughing. Fish was splayed across the bed on his stomach, diagonally, taking up most of the mattress. His arms and legs were splayed and there was barely any room for another person in the king sized bed. Grinning from ear to ear, Henry laid down on the small strip of space Fish had left him. To his relief, Fish rolled onto his back when he felt the dip in the mattress, giving him a bit more room. After brushing his fingertips along Fish's hair and lightly kissing his forehead, Henry rolled politely away from Fish, trying to keep his distance. He fought down the desire to wrap himself around the other man as he slept. The last thing he wanted was for Fish to think he had taken advantage of the situation.

Just as he was about to drift off, Henry felt an arm snake around his waist, tugging him backwards. Startled, Henry jerked away a little, causing Fish to let out a frustrated grunt. Fish continued to pull Henry backwards and shift himself forwards. In no time, the two men were spooned tightly against each other, Fish's face buried in back of Henry's neck. Henry heard Fish let out a contented sigh, and felt his nose nuzzling at his neck. He put his arm over Fish's, gripping the other man tightly. Even though it risked waking him, Henry hooked his heel around Fish's ankle, tangling their legs together further.

Henry closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of Fish pressed against him, the sound of his soft snoring and the barely discernible scent of the other man's aftershave. He was so happy and so peaceful. He tried to fight sleep but failed and the last thing he thought just before he fell asleep was, '_I'm home…_'


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning when Fish woke, he opened his eyes to see Henry sitting in the room's armchair, his sketchbook in front of him. He watched, captivated for a few moments by the intense concentration on Henry's face and the fluid motion of the man's hand, gliding pencil across paper with lightning speed.

He was about to lift his head to check the time but Henry practically barked out, "Don't move."

Fish felt self conscious. He was a bed hog and a fitful sleeper, often tossing and turning, and always woke up twisted in the sheets. This morning was no exception. He was sprawled diagonally over most of the bed, half on his side. The t-shirt Henry had loaned him had somehow worked itself nearly over his shoulder, twisted uncomfortably. His chest and belly were completely exposed and the twisted sheet was mostly trapped between his legs, the corner wrapped around his thigh. One leg was completely hidden by the sheet while the other was in full view. The legs of his borrowed pyjama bottoms had ridden up and were bunched halfway up his thighs.

Fish remained motionless as he watched Henry continue to draw. He had no idea how long he laid there. He tried to flick his gaze to the alarm clock on the bedside table but it was out of his view. Judging by the brightness of the hotel room, Fish knew it was well into morning. He needed to get to work. Henry must have noticed his restlessness.

"I've spoken with Mao-Lin already, Joe. You are not going to report for work before noon," Henry said in a commanding tone. He had stopped drawing and was giving Fish a look that conveyed authority.

"Henry-"

"Joe, I understand you're dedicated to you work but this morning you will be resting," Henry said, using the same commanding tone and it made Fish angry.

Fish found Henry's tone of voice and authoritative expression utterly condescending. Henry, this son of a king, was talking down to him as if Fish was some sort of subject or servant be commanded. And that he would never tolerate.

He narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Is that a command, your grace?"

Henry's own temper rose. Fish had hit a nerve with the honorific. "If you are going to start that rubbish-"

"No, this has nothing to do with Evie teasing you," Fish interrupted as he started untangling himself from the sheets. "I don't appreciate being talked down to and that was exactly what you were just doing, talking to me like a king commanding a servant."

"That's preposterous!" Henry snapped back, closing his sketchbook angrily and dropping it on the table next to him. "I am nothing but concerned for your welfare!"

"Yup, thanks. You called my boss and decided that I'm not going to work, all while I was fast asleep!" Fish snapped, finally getting himself untangled and his clothing righted. "Don't you think I should have been included in any of that?"

"Mao-Lin said you are quite the workaholic-" Henry started.

"My work is important, Henry," Fish interrupted, swinging his legs out of the bed and pointing at the view of the bay out of the window. "People are dying out there!"

When Henry spoke again, he used a patronising and placating tone, as if he was speaking to a small child having a tantrum, "Be that as it may-"

"And there you go again with that bollocks!" Fish interrupted hotly, his voice rising to a near shout. He threw his hands up in the air. He had had enough. "What the fuck did I say yesterday, Henry? That if you were going to treat me like I was still in nappies that you should keep fucking walking? Well, I won't stand for it! I get enough of that bollocks from Jack and Evie. I'm not a subject or servant to be ordered about and I'm not a bloody child!"

He strode over to his clothes from yesterday and started arranging them so he could change. He wouldn't tolerate anyone treating him this way. It was breaking Fish's heart but if this was how Henry planned to treat him, then he would walk away and not look back. Henry had stood up and grabbed Fish's arm.

"I'm sorry, Joe," he begged. "Please, don't go. I…"

Fish turned around as Henry's voice trailed off and saw tears in the green eyes. He held firm, pulled his arm out of Henry's grasp and folding his own arms across his chest, puffing it out defensively. "You need to start thinking of me as your equal, Henry."

"Of course I do, Joe!" Henry said hotly, insulted that Fish thought that of him. He reigned in his temper, lowering his voice but not meeting Fish's eye. "I do… I'm sorry. I feared for your safety last night and today and that fear made me fall upon old habits. I'm not making excuses, I'm only trying to explain. I can't promise it won't happen again."

Fish didn't answer Henry. He only stood there, his arms crossed over his chest. "I won't let you get away with it when it does," he said.

"And I wouldn't expect anything less of you," Henry said, looking hopeful that the argument had been settled. "Am I forgiven?"

Fish cupped Henry's face in his hand. "Yes."

Relief washed over Henry but was quickly replaced with disappointment. "I'd hoped we could have breakfast together… but since you're going to work…"

Fish had planned to do just that. He should get cleaned up and get ready for work. He should head to the Hub. The case was important. Torchwood was important. People were look on Henry's face was both equal parts pain and pleading. It crumbled Fish's resolve. _How can I say no with him looking at me like that…_

"What time is it now?" he asked.

"It's just gone nine," Henry answered.

He'd slept seven hours, much more sleep than he usually got. He felt awake and refreshed and Jack had told him not to come in before noon…

"Breakfast sounds great," Fish said, smiling.

Henry surged forward, kissing Fish full on the lips. As Fish's knees weakened, he broke the kiss, backing away from Henry a bit. "Keep that up and we'll never get anything to eat. And I'm dying for the loo."

"Right, sorry, sorry," Henry stammered with a smile and blushed a little.

Fish disappeared into the en suite to relieve his bladder and then glanced at the hotel amenities. There was a toothbrush and toothpaste but no razor. He hadn't shaved in two days. His face was starting to itch and he was starting to look scruffy. He poked his head out of the door.

"Henry? I hate to ask but can I borrow your razor?" he asked, sheepishly.

"Of course, Joe," Henry said. "It's in my toiletry bag. You're welcome to whatever you need."

"Thanks," Fish said with a nervous smile.

He shut the door and dragged the bag towards him. He opened a small case that he assumed contained Henry's razor and his shoulders slumped a bit. It was an ivory handled straight razor, something that Fish had never used. The blade was obviously an antique. There was a small knock at the door. Fish opened it and Henry stepped into the room.

"I'm sorry, Joe, after I offered you the razor, I realised you may not know how to use it," he said and then handed him a corded electric razor.

Fish looked from the straight razor to the electric one and blinked a few times at the dichotomy. "What the bloody hell do you have both of these for?"

"I prefer the straight razor's shave but if I'm rushed, I tend to cut myself. So I keep the electric one for efficiency," the immortal man said.

Fish took the electric razor from Henry with a laugh. "You're worried about cutting yourself? You'll heal in seconds!"

"Just because I heal quickly doesn't mean I mind the pain or annoyance," Henry said with a chuckle as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Bloody immortals don't make any sense," Fish said with a shake of his head.

He took a shower and then used Henry's electric razor to quickly shave. When he went back into the bedroom, Henry was already dressed, bent over fiddling with the laces of his shoes. Henry had straightened out the sheets a bit and his suitcases were open on top of the bed.

Henry looked up when he heard the door and his mouth went dry. Fish was standing in the washroom doorway with the towel around his waist. A few stray drops of water still clung to his skin and his hair was still damp. Henry swallowed as he watched a trickle of water drip from Fish's hairline. It ran down past the other man's ear and slid down his neck slowly. Henry's heart started to pound in his chest and his breath caught in his throat at the sight. He wanted to rip the towel from Fish's body and lick the water from his skin. Henry gave himself a rough mental shake.

"I'm sorry about last night, Henry," Fish said a little sheepish.

"Sorry? For what?" Henry asked, his voice unsteady.

"This," Fish said waving at the bed. "I'm a terrible bed partner. My ex complained about it all the time."

Henry furrowed his brow in confusion. He'd experienced nothing like that in the night. From the moment Fish had grabbed him in his sleep to when Henry had gotten out of bed, Fish hadn't disturbed him once. "You were practically comatose last night, Joe. When I woke around seven, you were sleeping peacefully. I went into the other room to exercise. When I came back to shower, you were twisted up in the sheets."

While grateful that he hadn't disturbed Henry's sleep, Fish didn't want to think about the fact that he'd slept peacefully through the night up until the point Henry had left the bed. It felt like a cliche. He'd probably been so bone tired, that he'd slept deeply until the movement of Henry getting out of bed had roused him enough for him to resume his normal sleeping patterns. _A reasonable explanation… _With a shake of his head, Fish lifted up his clothes from the armchair, examining them for wrinkles.

"You're welcome to some fresh clothes, Joe," Henry said waving at the suitcases.

"Thanks," he said.

Normally, Fish would have refused offer but this time he was grateful. His clothes from the day before were wrinkled and he had been in them a long time. He bent over the suitcases and picked up the polo shirt and pair of jeans laying on top, not wanting to go rooting around in Henry's case too much. Henry was taller than Fish but not by much. Fish had a slim but athletic build similar to Henry's but Henry was a bit more bulky in the chest and shoulders which Fish attributed to his sword training. The jeans fit perfectly but the polo shirt hung on him a bit. Fish wrinkled his nose as he put on his pants and socks from the day before but he drew the line at wearing someone else's pants and socks.

"There's a great breakfast place in the city centre," Fish said, looking at his watch. "I think it'll be open by the time we get there. I'm parked downstairs."

Henry nodded and Fish saw something glinting in the light as Henry reached up to automatically brush his hair behind his ear that was now far too short to do so. Once Fish had slipped on his trainers, he joined Henry by the door and got a closer look. Without thinking, he reached up, letting his fingertips brush through Henry's hair, watching how the light bounced off a few grey strands. Fish didn't remember seeing those grey strands in the light brown hair when he'd first met him. He hadn't noticed them in the low light of the room either but then again he'd been half asleep last night. He leaned back slightly, taking in the whole picture of Henry's appearance. The grey was concentrated at Henry's temples but there was just enough flecked through Henry's hair that someone would likely think him a man in his early or mid-thirties with a bit of a baby face.

"You expressed discomfort with my youthful appearance," Henry said, blushing a bit.

"You didn't have to do that, Henry." Fish was touched. He knew that immortals were physically frozen at the age of first death and for Henry that was seventeen. Now that he knew Henry was ten teams his age, he'd like to say the fact that Henry was physically seventeen didn't bother him anymore and it didn't when the two of them were alone. But it still made him feel self conscious when out in public. In fact, he had wondered how long it would be before someone thought Henry was his son. That mistake wouldn't be made now.

"I wanted to," Henry said, "for you."

Fish felt a gush of affection at the thoughtfulness. He didn't know what to say but followed Henry out into the hallway and into the lift. The two rode it down to the lobby in silence, Fish wondered how to properly thank Henry. The idea came to him suddenly as the doors opened. Henry was about to step out into the lobby when Fish grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. Unflinching, Fish walked with Henry out of the lobby and towards his car, hand in hand.


	15. Chapter 15

Fish walked into the Hub smiling. Breakfast with Henry had been wonderful. The two men had sat talking and laughing over the delicious food. It was past noon when Fish kissed Henry goodbye, dropping the other man off at his hotel. His heart felt light and he tried to remember the last time he felt so happy. He didn't notice but he was actually humming when he stepped through the cog wheel door. Ianto fell into step beside him, holding his silver tray of coffee mugs aloft.

"Someone sounds well shagged. There are some of those apple pastries you like in the kitchen… or have you already eaten?" Ianto deadpanned as took Fish's mug off the tray and handed it to him with a loaded glance.

Despite the fact that he and Henry had done nothing but sleep last night, Fish blushed furiously as he sat down at his workstation.

"Christ, Ianto!" he laughed and then shook his head. "I've eaten already. Food! And nothing happened last night. Just sleep."

"Just taking the piss, Fish," Ianto said, with a smile as Fish took the coffee mug from him. "It's good to see you rested and happy. Love suits you."

A dreamy look came over Fish's face along with a crooked smile. The smile faded and Fish said, "Doesn't matter. He's leaving Thursday." _Two days…_

"We may not have a pension plan, mate, but you get the same thirty days holiday the rest of us get," Ianto said.

"And when was the last time any of us used the thirty days?" Fish said with a laugh.

"Point," Ianto laughed and then sobered. "Look, mate, you said so yourself. Gwen and Rhys get their time. Jack and I went to Cassis last summer. You deserve some time for yourself too."

Fish shook his head. "The case is what's important right now, Ianto."

"It is mate, but when it's over, you should spend some real time with Henry," Ianto said, giving Fish's shoulder a friendly pat.

"Fish? A word?" Miranda's voice rose up from the autopsy bay.

"Oh, Christ, what the fuck does she want?" Fish groaned. He was still a bit angry with her for humiliating Henry in front of him.

"Dunno, best go find out though," Ianto said with a one shouldered shrug. He carried his tray of mugs towards Jack's office.

Fish stood up, and crossed the Hub grumbling. For some reason, Miranda's summons had an air of dread about it.

"What's up, Evie?" he asked, leaning against the autopsy table.

Fish saw Dewi jump off the chair as Miranda wheeled it out from under her desk. The small niffler had fallen through the rift last year and had taken quite a liking to the medic. Looking a bit disappointed he had lost his sleeping spot, Dewi retreated to his box under her desk. Miranda turned her desk chair around, brushed a few feathers off of it and sat down facing Fish.

"I told myself I'd stay out of whatever is going on between you and Henry-"

"But you're not going to do that are you?" Fish found himself snapping.

She shook her head. "You were at his hotel room last night-"

"Fuck all! First Ianto and now you? Honestly, it's just sex, sex, sex with you people! Nothing happened, Evie!" he said, throwing his hands up, exasperated.

Miranda began to say, "Henry's history-"

"Evie-"

"No, Fish! Please, listen," she said.

Fish gestured for her to continue.

"Henry has… a certain… track record with… lovers, especially when he travels," she said. She spoke carefully and slowly as if choosing her words with great care and delicacy. "He nearly always meets someone when he goes travels. And everything is happiness and romance and little moments… all culminating in one lusty, romantic night and then… he leaves."

"I know he's leaving, Evie. Thursday," Fish said, trying to sound nonchalant. "And how is our little fling any of your business?"

She ignored him and said, "He leaves and… he makes certain… promises."

"What do you mean? Promises?" Fish asked, frowning. This hadn't been what he'd expected from this conversation at all. He'd expected Miranda to warn him away from Henry, yes, but with some sort of lecture about the difficulties of a relationship with an immortal of the Game or some other reason involving Henry's immortality. But this?

"The promise of phone calls… the promise of return… the promise to relocate… Promises that Henry never keeps," she said softly. "He is his father's son."

"You're telling me I'm going to end up in the Tower?" Fish said sarcastically.

"No, Fish. I'm telling you that Henry is a man of the moment… and when he returns to Canada… the moments in Cardiff will be over." She gave a sad shake of her head. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"I can take care of myself, Evie," Fish said, turning away and storming up the autopsy bay stairs.

He plopped down into his chair and turned on his workstation. He dismissed what Miranda said and tried to concentrate on his work and failed.

_It doesn't matter…_ he told himself. Henry had been nothing but forthcoming with him. He'd made no promises nor led Fish on in any way. He'd made it clear that he was leaving. The two of them both knew exactly where this was heading. This morning when a crooked smile had broken over Fish's face as he watched Henry chew his toast, he finally admitted it to himself that he was falling in love Henry. Maybe he was most of the way there already but he couldn't allow it. They would go their separate ways and that would be the end of it. Fish knew that it would hurt. He would miss Henry terribly but that was the way it had to be. What did it matter if Henry made promises to him that he wouldn't keep? Fish hadn't asked for anything nor was he expecting anything. Miranda was making him sound like some sort of smitten school girl with a crush. He took a deep breath and shook off his anger at Miranda and decided that he'd speak to Henry about it, though he had no idea when that would possibly be.

As the morning wore on, he continued to watch the CCTV footage that the facial recognition program had spit back. There was a fair portion of footage and it was tedious to sift through. The man who had once been Gareth Harding appeared on quite a few cameras, usually walking the streets. To anyone else, he appeared to be a normal Cardiff resident going about his day. Fish watched him walk the streets and occasionally buy a meal. By the time Ianto ordered lunch, Fish had made some progress. The team munched on curry as they talked.

"So there isn't a lot to go on from the twenties," Gwen said as she passed the foil pouch of naan to Jack. "He was reported missing by his film director. You were both wrong. It was 9 April, 1919, the last day of filming. He said that Harding had a disagreement with one of the film crew. He went for a walk to have a fag and never came back."

"Nothing more specific, Gwen?" Jack asked, chewing on his bread.

Gwen wiped her mouth before she spoke. "No, I looked through all the old newspaper articles and there wasn't much there either. There was a lot of speculation and a lot of guessing and some salacious theories but nothing solid. It was like the man vanished into thin air."

"You were working back then, Jack. Was it looked into by Torchwood at all?" Miranda asked. "Could I have the rice please, Ifan?"

Ianto slid the requested container across the table a little too forcefully and some of the rice spilled when it collided with Miranda's soda can. "Oops, sorry, Mandy."

"I hadn't reported back yet, Will. And that was a busy week," Jack said with a strange smile on a his face.

"Busy? How was it busy if you hadn't reported back to Torchwood yet?" Miranda asked.

"You can't remember the sock you dropped on the floor last week, but you can remember a weekend back in 1919?" Ianto teased.

"It wasn't a weekend, Yan. It was a Wednesday," Jack said. A hurt look crossed his face as he said, "You don't remember, Will?"

"Jack, why would I remember…" Miranda trailed off when she saw the look on Jack's face. She looked down into her food and took a bite, not saying another word. She remembered.

_April 1919…_

Jack strode down the side street, whistling a little as he went. The war was over and now that he was back in Wales, he would be reporting back to Torchwood. _The war to end all wars…_ he thought with a sigh, knowing how ironic the nickname would be. The sound of shoe soles scraping the ground caught his attention as he walked past an alleyway. When he looked up, he saw a young Asian woman at the end of the alley. A burly man was standing behind her, his arm around her waist. Another equally burly looking man was in front of her, tearing at her coat.

"HEY!" he shouted, darting down the alley.

He stopped in his tracks from shock as he saw the young woman snap her head back, slamming it into the man's face. Blood poured out of his nose as it broke and he dropped her, falling to the ground unconscious. Her other attacker stood there, dumbstruck, gazing down at his fallen friend. The unknown woman brought her leg up, kicking him square in the groin and he let out a howl, falling to his knees. Jack couldn't believe his eyes as he watched this small woman kick the man's leg out from under him. He landed onto the ground with a thud and Jack watched her bring the heel of her foot down sharply onto the outside of the man's knee and heard a sickening pop. Just as her attacker let out a scream of agony, Jack saw her grab a fistful of the man's hair and slam his head into the ground, rendering him unconscious as well. She stood up and started examining her torn coat and adjusting her hat as Jack was reaching her side.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you," she said and then turned and walked away.

Jack looked back and forth from the small woman to the two unconscious men. He darted after her and reached for her arm. "Hey! Wait!"

She turned and said impatiently, "Can I help you, sir?"

He blinked at her a few times. Her accent wasn't Welsh. It was Irish. He was getting his first good look at her. She was stunning. Her almond eyes were the colour of honey, flecked with gold. Her hair, a little out of place from the scuffle, was jet black and shining.

"Lieutenant Jack Harkness." He held out his hand and flashed his thousand watt grin at her.

"Lovely to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant," she said, ignoring the hand and walking away from him again.

"Hey! Wait!" Jack shouted again. "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern. I'll be taking my leave of you now," she said politely and again, turned on her heel and walked away.

There was no way Jack was letting this woman get away from him. He'd never met a woman remotely like her in this backward century. He'd met a few women full of piss and vinegar, surely but not someone who could drop two grown men twice her size with such ease. He darted past her and blocked her way. "I didn't get your name."

"I didn't offer it," she said simply and then side stepped him but he moved to block her path again.

Jack gave her another grin, turning up the wattage, and said, "It's not safe. You shouldn't be wandering around by yourself. Can I escort you home?"

This unknown woman turned slowly to look back down the alley, her eyes falling on the two unconscious men. Jack followed her gaze and his face fell. She turned back to him just as slowly. She raised a bemused eyebrow at him and said, "You think I need your protection, Lieutenant?"

"Well, err… ummm…" Jack stammered.

"Oh yes, an American soldier," she said. The bemusement changed to annoyance. "I suspect you think a lady should just swoon at that foreign accent and handsome jawline of yours when you come to her aide. Well, perhaps you should find yourself a different lady to flash that smile at. Good day to you, Lieutenant."

She pushed passed him and stepped onto the street, not giving him another glance. Jack was still recovering from the verbal lashing when she disappeared around the corner. He bolted after her and when he turned the corner, he didn't see her.

"Excuse me! Did you see a woman in a blue dress?" he called out to the traffic constable.

"The Chinawoman?" he asked and then jerked his head to his right. "She went that way."

"Thanks!" Jack said and bolted down the street.

He walked for a bit, looking right and left trying to see if he could find her. After he'd gone a few blocks, he stopped disappointed. He walked on a bit more and then stopped, resigning himself to the fact that he'd lost her. He turned, looking up and down the street. She could be anywhere.

Suddenly, a hand fisted the back of his coat and dragged him into the alley behind him. He was pressed against the brick wall of the building by someone surprisingly strong. When he stared into the face of his attacker, he saw almond shaped eyes. Just as the smile broke out across his face, Jack felt something sharp against into his groin. He looked down and swallowed. The point of a dagger was pressed into his crotch in a very dangerous position. He knew enough about anatomy to know if she buried her knife to her left, she'd sever his femoral artery but a quick flick to her right would threaten parts of his anatomy he was quite fond of.

Her eyes blazing, she hissed, "I believe I bid you good day, sir. You best stop following me before I cut your manhood from your body and feed it to you."

"Woah, hey! Easy! I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to talk!" he said.

"Talk? That's what you soldiers are calling it these days is it?" she said, twisting the knife a little.

"Hey! Hey! C'mon! Calm down!" he said, holding his hands up. He waited a second and then held out his right hand. "How about we start over? Lieutenant Jack Harkness."

"You're persistent, I'll give you that, Lieutenant," she said. She still hadn't removed the dagger from his groin.

"You know when someone gives you their name, it's generally considered polite to give them yours in return… and not to pull a dagger on them," he said, still keeping his hand extended. He smiled at her.

To his relief, she stepped back and slid the dagger back into the sleeve of her coat. "Wilhelmina Cho."

He reached his hand out a little further and said, "Lovely to meet you, Miss Cho."

She gripped his hand, shaking it briefly before letting go. Her grip was like iron.

"What brings you to Cardiff?" he asked, brightly.

She didn't answer him.

"This is called conversation," he said, flashing his smile again. "I say something, then you say something."

"I know what conversation is, Lieutenant," she snapped.

"Jack."

"What?"

"My name. Is Jack," he said, widening his smile. He turned to the side and pushed his bent elbow out towards her, offering her his arm.

"You're being a bit presumptuous, Jack," she said, eyeing the arm.

"And you just called me Jack, Miss Cho," he said, tilting his head at her.

"Wilhelmina," she said as she curled her arm around his. Jack could see she was barely restraining a smile.

"Well, Will, what do you say you and me find ourselves some fish and chips?" he asked, bowing a bit and waving out at the street in front of him.

"You are a strange sort of man, Jack Harkness," she said, finally smiling at him.

"Well you're quite a woman… and you have no idea," he said as they walked down the street, arm in arm.

_Present day Cardiff… _

Miranda smiled at the memory, a nostalgic look coming over her face and Jack's as well. The two of them had bought fish and chips, wrapped in newspaper and had talked the whole afternoon. She'd been on holiday in Cardiff, trying to find work as a seamstress. Because she was Chinese, she had met with discrimination and she was working her way east. If she hadn't found anything in Cardiff, she'd planned to move on to London. At Jack's suggestion, she'd spoken with a tailor on the east side of the city who had hired her on the spot. Miranda hadn't known it at the time, but the tailor was actually a humanoid alien who owed Jack a favor.

Having secured a job, Miranda had moved to Cardiff, staying in a small boarding house. One of Harding's older films had been their first date. It had been quite the farce; not the film - Jack and Miranda had both put on their respective acts. Jack hadn't even attempted to kiss her goodnight when he'd dropped her off at the boarding house. He'd only kissed her hand and presented her with a flower he'd plucked from the front stoop.

The other three team members looked between Jack and Miranda, the two immortals smiling a bit at each other. Ianto cleared his throat loudly to snap the two of them out of their daydream.

"What?" Gwen asked.

Miranda cleared her own throat and said, "One of Harding's films was our first date."

"Really?" Gwen cried.

"Anyway," Jack said loudly, drowning out any further questions from Gwen. "What's the story with the CCTV footage, Fish?"

"I may have something but I'm not sure yet," Fish said as he wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. "People have routines, regular patterns of movements in their life. They have routes that they normally travel between the places they frequent. You go to work. You go home. You go to the shops. I think I may have something."

Fish reached up for a paper napkin and balled it in his hand and then another. He tossed one towards Jack and then one down by Miranda.

"Say that's where you work and that one is where you live. There are numerous pathways to take between those two points but your destinations are the same so I should see him clustered around cameras in areas he frequents," Fish said. He tapped the tablet next to him and a map of the city came up. "Just for example… This is me. You'll see that I appear on cameras mostly around my flat and around the Plass with a few scattered dots elsewhere when I've gone out on field calls. You can clearly see the routes I take to get to and from the Hub. This line of dots over here is my run."

With another tap of the tablet, the map changed. "This is what I got when I mapped out Harding's movements for the past month."

Jack said, "It's scattered but centered around Grangetown and Butetown. There aren't any groupings like on your map."

"Exactly, but the man's had a parasite in his brain for the past century, so I changed things up," Fish said. "The public CCTV cameras have been in widespread common use since the nineties but I don't have footage going back that far. So, I reworked the geographical profile that Gwen and Evie started with the bodies."

"There was no pattern there, Fish," Gwen said, scrunching her face. "None of the bodies were found in any one specific area. They weren't even grouped in a single area."

"Ah yes, but you and Evie didn't factor time into your analysis," Fish said. "I didn't notice until today."

"What do you mean, Fish?" Miranda asked, closing her take away container. "Gwen and I broke down the cycles."

"But not in order of discovery. Watch what happens when I show each body's discovery over time. The first body of each cycle will appear as a bunch of red dots. The second series of dots - the blue ones - are the second bodies. Watch," Fish said as he tapped the tablet.

"We didn't think to do that," Gwen said. When Gwen and Miranda had originally done the map, they had placed dots for all of the bodies onto a single map and found nothing. Then they'd colour coordinated each cycle and again, they'd found nothing. Fish had colour coordinated the bodies in the cycle. With each body highlighted in this way, the pattern was now clear. It wasn't random. The first bodies were always found away from the city centre. The second body was nearly found closer. The third bodies were found either in the city centre or just barely on the opposite side of where the bodies had started to turn up. The bodies moved back and forth criss-crossing the centre of Cardiff in almost a star like pattern.

"By the Gods, Jack, how could we have missed this?" Miranda gasped. "It plain as day now!"

"We wouldn't have noticed. As it's happening, it feels random," Jack said with a shake of his head. "And if you find even just one body out of sequence it's easy to miss."

"The bodies are still criss crossing the city," Ianto said.

"Yes, but now there's an epicenter, sort of," Fish said as he tapped the tablet again and the animation continued. "Bute Park."

"He has to be making a living somehow," Miranda said. "The other girl was a prostitute. Could he be working as a rent boy? The castle grounds are a popular cruising area."

"If he is the police haven't found him yet," Gwen said. "He's not in any of the mugshots photographs. Fish and I ran that through facial recognition first."

"That's the other thing. He doesn't look like he's homeless or living in the park. He's clean and fairly well dressed other than the fact his clothes don't fit well," Fish said. "I have Tosh's programs running, Jack. If he appears anywhere in the city, we'll know about it."

"Back to the waiting game. Great work, Fish. Okay everyone, I know this is getting frustrating but this is a good lead," Jack broke off as the alarms started blare. "Tonight we'll head into Bute Park. Will, Gwen? I'd like for the two of you to watch our backs. Fish? Ianto? we're going cruising."


	16. Chapter 16

"You wanted to see me, Jack?" Fish asked as he poked his head into Jack's office around mid-afternoon.

"Yeah, Fish, have a seat," Jack said. He stood up and came around his desk, leaning against it. He put his hands into his pockets and looked down at Fish.

"You don't have to do this tonight, Fish," Jack said.

"What? The undercover bit with you and Ianto? Why not, Jack? We need as many eyes as we can get out there since we can't use Gwen and Evie," Fish said and then his face suddenly fell. "You don't think I can do this."

"That's not it at all, Fish. I can teach you gay cruising 101," Jack said. "Look, I'm not as obtuse as Will thinks I am. This thing with you and Henry is just starting and you're about to get a very ugly picture of Cardiff's gay underbelly."

"You think that seeing a bunch of poofs trolling for sex in a park is going to put me off? Stay out of my sexual identity crisis, Jack," he snapped and then stood up to make for the door.

"That's not it, Fish," Jack said, putting his hand on Fish's shoulder firmly and pushing him back down into the chair.

"Well then what is it?" he snapped.

"I've seen him," Jack said reluctantly.

Fish turned. "What?"

"Henry. It was 2002. He was in the park," Jack said.

"He could have just been taking a walk."

"It was at two in the morning," Jack said. He gave Fish a hard look and Fish dropped his gaze.

"Did… Did…" Fish stammered, he couldn't stop the question.

"No, he walked past me and I walked past him," Jack said. "Look, I'm not telling you this to make you think bad about him, I just-"

"Don't want me running into him tonight and thinking the wrong things," Fish said. He shook his head, a wash of confusing feeling bubbling up inside of him. Disgust, disbelief and anger were followed by jealousy and then more disbelief. _How is it different from me going out on the pull in some bar?_ "Henry and I haven't made any promises to each other. I appreciate the thought, Jack."

"You sure, Fish?" Jack asked. "Remember you don't have to do this."

"I'm part of the team, Jack," Fish said, firmly.

Jack nodded and then stepped back behind his desk. He sat down and started a lengthly and intensely awkward tutorial on what Fish should expect tonight and how he should behave. Feeling a bit numb and overwhelmed, Fish walked out of Jack's office and sat down at his workstation, his lunch churning a bit in his stomach even though he'd eaten it hours ago. He planted his elbows on his desk and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"You okay?" Ianto asked from behind him.

"Yeah, going to be a blast tonight," Fish said, sarcastically.

Ianto chuckled. "It's really not that bad."

"Ianto mate, too much information," Fish said shaking his head.

"I don't mean I've done it," Ianto said, rolling his eyes. "When I was trying to get my job here, I followed Jack about and it's really not as seedy as you're thinking. If you don't really make eye contact with anyone, you'll be fine. You want some coffee?"

"Yeah that'd be great, thanks Ianto," Fish said.

Fish started to sort through the camera footage from around Bute Park. He continued to work, seeing if he could get some idea of where Gareth Harding was living these days when his mobile rang. Fish saw Henry's name displayed across the top of his phone. He went to reach for it but stopped short, his hand hovering over it as it rang until the call went to his answer phone. After a few moments, the phone vibrated and dinged, indicating a message had been left. Fish picked up the phone and listened.

"Joe? It's Henry. I wanted to see if you were available for dinner. I've made a booking for tonight but I understand if you're occupied with work. Please, feel free to call any time, day or night…" Henry's voice trailed off and then lowered. "It would be good to hear from you. I… I miss you, Joe."

_I miss you too… _Fish shook his head, scolding himself for not answering when Henry had called. What Miranda and Jack had told him was going off in his mind, like an insane siren. He shouldn't hold any of it against Henry, he knew that. Fish had made mistakes of his own in his life and he hadn't even heard Henry's side of the story yet. The sound of Jack's office door opening made Fish lift his head.

"Okay everyone, we'll meet out at the music college car park at eleven. Gwen, make sure that Cardiff's finest know we're on the clock. I don't want to get picked up for solicitation. Go home, everyone and get some rest," Jack said.

Fish picked up his mobile and dialed Henry back. The phone had barely finished the first ring when Henry picked up the call.

"Joe?" Henry asked.

"Henry? Hi," he said.

"I just called you a few moments ago," Henry said, smiling.

"I know I didn't get to my phone in time," Fish lied. "I'm free tonight for dinner."

"Wonderful!" Henry exclaimed. "The booking is for seven, is that all right?"

"That's fine," Fish said, looking at his watch. He had plenty of time to get home, get cleaned up and changed. "I'll pick you up at six thirty?"

"I look forward to it," Henry said. "I'll see you then, Joe."

"Right. I'll see you then," Fish said and then disconnected the call. He collected his things as fast as he could and nearly collided with Gwen as he made for the Hub's garage.

"Sorry Gwen!" he called over his shoulder.

"See you later, Fish," she said. "You're in a bit of a rush aren't you?"

Fish felt a crooked smile spread across his face as he dashed past her. "Yeah… big date, bye Gwen!"

"Good luck!" she shouted after him and then Fish heard the sound of her giggling as he jogged down the hallway.

The drive back to his flat took him longer than usual as Fish was leaving in the middle of the rush hour. Normally he left the Hub in the dead of night and never encountered any traffic. Now it had just gone five and the streets were crowded. On the bright side, it didn't take him nearly as long to find somewhere to park. Usually by the time he got home, all the parking spaces close to his flat were taken. This time he was only a few steps from his front door. He bolted up the stairs to his flat, dropping his messenger bag by the door as he checked his watch. He had an hour.

After a very hot and thorough shower, Fish shaved carefully and slowly. After splashing on some cologne, he turned to his hair. He ran some gel through it, trying to get it to lay the way he wanted. With the towel still around his waist, he padded out into his bedroom and started to consider what to wear. This was the part he'd been dreading. Fish had a very poor fashion sense and the team always made fun of him for it. Taking pity on him, Ianto had gone clothes shopping with him a few times over the past few years. The well dressed Welshman had added quite a few sharp pieces to Fish's wardrobe.

Fish immediately dismissed the suit. Not only was it probably dated, it seemed too formal and if he was called into the Hub it would be disastrous for him. He took out a pair of black jeans that Ianto had talked him into buying. They were tighter than he usually wore and had a button flies, something Fish usually hated. He then took out another item Ianto had talked him into ask well - a white button down shirt with a blue and red check. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he winced at the shirt. Fish preferred more muted and neutral tones but Ianto had been trying to get him to add more colour. He had to admit that he looked great but the shirt was hurting his eyes. He reached into the wardrobe and took out a navy jumper. After he tugged it over his head, he adjusted the collar and checked his reflection. Immediately, he ripped the jumper off and tossed it onto the bed. _I look like a bloody university professor…_ he thought. He selected another jumper, pulling the loose grey over his head and settling it into place. Again, he adjusted his collar and checked his reflection. The jumper was more casual, loose around the neck and arms so Fish didn't feel quite as restricted. The bold check was hidden now, peeking out only at the collar and the bottom hem of the jumper. He didn't think he looked all that great but it was the best he was going to do. He was tempted to take a picture of himself and send it to Ianto for his opinion but when he checked his watch he realised he didn't have time.

After brushing his teeth twice, he picked up his messenger bag and left the flat. As he drove, he wondered if he should stop for something. If he'd been going out on a date with a women, he would have shown up with flowers but a date with a man? It didn't feel right to him and Henry didn't seem like the flowers type anyway. The cliche chocolates didn't seem appropriate either as Henry didn't seem the sort of man with a sweet tooth. Usually Fish felt such gifts were hollow and a little pointless. In the end, he decided to go with his gut and to not bother.

When he pulled into the hotel's car park, another decision faced him. Did he go up to Henry's room or ask him to come down? Again, if it was a woman, Fish would have gone up to the room and knocked so that he could safely see her down to the car. He would have held the door open and behaved the chivalrous gentleman not because that was what etiquette dictated, but it was merely the sort of man he was. And that was the solution to all his questions. Fish needed to just be himself.

Stamping back nerves, Fish got out of the car and entered the hotel lobby. He rode the lift of up to the fifth floor and turned down the hallway. He knocked politely at Henry's door and waited. Now he felt foolish for not having picked something up. He felt strange, standing there empty handed. His heart started to pound as heard Henry unlatching the door. It swung open and Fish's breath caught in his throat.

Henry was wearing one of his suits but without the tie. It was almost the same charcoal pinstripe he'd first seen Henry in but the pinstripe was wider. Underneath the jacket, Henry wore a deep purple shirt with a high shine. The top buttons were undone and Fish's eyes raked down Henry's throat. Fish wanted to push Henry back into the door, pull back the cloth and latch his lips onto the collarbone he saw disappearing into shirt. The immortal man was taking in Fish's appearance with the same hunger. The two men stared at each other, barely breathing. Henry recovered first.

"We should get going, Joe," he said, his voice a bare whisper.

"Yes… yeah, sorry," Fish said, offering Henry his hand.

Henry took it and the two of them walked hand in hand out of the hotel. Fish opened the passenger door for Henry and blushed as Henry thanked him. The drive to the restaurant was spent mostly in silence, Fish feeling nerves dancing in his belly. He wanted to talk to Henry about what Miranda and Jack had said to him but he didn't want to ruin the evening. It didn't seem like good date conversation. What they'd said didn't matter anyway, Henry was leaving. They were merely making a few memories and then Henry would be gone. Fish stamped the sadness back. There'd be enough time for sadness later. He wasn't going to let it spoil tonight. Fish parked the car up the street and the two walked, again hand in hand, into the restaurant.

"I have a booking for two under Blount," Henry said to the host.

Fish crinkled his brow at the name. He knew him as Henry Fitzroy but Blount must be whatever alias Henry was currently using.

"Of course, sir, this way," he said as he led Henry and Fish through the restaurant. He seated them at a table on the side and left the menus with them. "Enjoy your meal."

Fish opened his menu. He'd never been here. He knew this was one of the best restaurants in Cardiff but this was normally not his sort of dining. Fish was a simple man of simple tastes. He felt a bit awkward and out of place. He hadn't been in a restaurant like this in some time and he had no idea what the menu was describing. It seems that fine dining had changed a great deal over the past half dozen years.

"Is something the matter, Joe?" Henry asked.

"I'm not used to this, Henry," Fish said, honestly. He chuckled a bit, trying to lighten what he was saying, "I'm a simple bloke. I haven't had a meal like this in a long time. I don't think I've heard of half of these things."

"I'm sorry, Joe. I had heard this was the best restaurant in Cardiff," said Henry as his face fell. "I don't often dine out either…"

"I do like a fancy meal now and again, Henry. It's just been a long time," Fish said quickly, remembering their disagreement this morning about Henry's superior attitude. Fish didn't want Henry to think he was mistaking his thoughtfulness at trying to choose a nice restaurant.

The waiter appeared. "Good evening. Can I get you gentlemen something to drink?"

"I'm fine with the water," Fish said.

"Me too," Henry said.

"Would you like a moment more with the menu?" he asked.

"Do you trust me?" Henry asked Fish with a small glint in his eye.

"Of course," Fish said with a small laugh.

"The tasting menu for both of us please," Henry said.

"The wine pairings as well?" the waiter asked politely.

"Yes, please," Henry said smiling at Fish.

"No wine for me," Fish said and then turned to his date. "I have to work later on tonight, Henry."

The waiter nodded and then collected their menus, leaving them alone.

"I'm sorry, Joe, I had no idea you were going to be working later," said Henry. "We could have done something simpler."

Fish shook his head. "I don't have to work until eleven and wine tends to make me groggy."

The dinner was fantastic. The food excellent and, as always when with Henry, Fish found himself enjoying the company and conversation. At first, Fish had found the juxtaposition of Henry's youthful appearance and mature demeanour amusing but now that he knew the truth, he found it endearing. After their meal and much begging, Henry had given into Fish's request for pictures. Their waiter had snapped a few with Fish's camera phone while they were at the table and the host had taken a few as well of the two of them arm in arm. Fish drove Henry back to St. David's. After he'd parked the car, Henry turned to him.

"Would you like to come up, Joe?" he asked. "Just to talk?"

Fish glanced at the clock in his car. He had plenty of time. He nodded and the two men walked up to the hotel room together. Henry unlocked the door and Fish stepped into the room, dropping his messenger bag next to the sofa.

"I think there is water and soda in here," Henry said, kneeling down in front of the small minibar. He'd removed his suit jacket. It was draped across one of the other chairs.

"Water's fine, Henry," Fish said as he sat down on the sofa. "I was hoping we could talk some more."

Henry handed the bottle of water to Fish and sat down next to him. "That sounds quite ominous, Joe," he said and then sighed. "You've spoken with Mao-Lin and she has told you some things that concern you."

"I'm not really concerned, Henry, but I wanted to hear your end of it," Fish said. "To say Evie was vague would be an understatement."

Henry twisted the cap off his own bottle of water and dropped it onto the coffee table. "Mao-Lin sees me as a heartbreaker. I'd like to say that her opinion is unfounded but that would not be true. Once or twice, I have made promises in the heat of the moment that I did not think through and have not been able or willing to keep. I do regret those actions. More often it is the fact that long distance relationships tend to break down quickly."

"You're leaving Thursday. We both know that," Fish said sadly.

"As I've said before, Joe, Mao-Lin often plays the role of annoying older sister for me. She has a right to speak her mind but I can't say I'm pleased she has," Henry said, annoyed.

"Henry, it doesn't matter, really," Fish said with a shrug. "You're not leading me on. We've been up front and honest with each other. I just wanted to hear your end of it."

"There's something else troubling you?" Henry asked searching Fish's face.

Fish was loathed to bring up what Jack had said but he didn't want it hanging between them. He sighed and said, slowly, "My boss said he saw you in Bute Park back in '02, at two in the morning…"

Henry shifted on the sofa uncomfortably, clearly embarrassed.

"He said nothing happened between you…"

"But there's only really one reason a man wanders through Bute Park in the middle of the night," Henry said, delicately.

"I'm not judging you, Henry, honestly. To me, it's no different than my going out on the pull," Fish said.

"But…?"

"But I wanted to hear your end of it is all," Fish said.

Henry sat for a while, not speaking and Fish could tell that he was formulating his answer. "You don't need to explain, if you don't want to Henry," Fish said. "You don't owe me any explanations."

"I will explain, Joe, just give me a moment," Henry said, a little exasperated.

"Sorry, take your time."

Fish sat back on the sofa while Henry thought. The immortal man took a few sips of his water, as well as a few loud breaths and sighs and Fish continued to patiently wait. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd resisted glancing at the clock, not wanting to pressure him but eventually Henry spoke. His voice was soft and slow, almost as if he was still trying to work out the proper way to say what he was thinking.

"Today, I walked through the streets hand in hand with you happily and without fear but that is not always the way it has been. I am used to hiding who I am, seeking out the company of other men covertly - in parks or molly houses or back alleys," Henry said slowly. He paused to take another sip of his water. "I know there's a certain stigma attached to such behaviour in this time because of the greater acceptance of homosexuality and of the dangers involved but, as you know, my immortality protects me from injury and disease. I know that some enjoy the thrill of such things but that is not why I do it. It's difficult to explain. For me it's familiar, like routine. I would like to tell you that it's not something I do often but I am a man with needs. Even in this modern era, where I may seek another man's company openly, I choose not to."

Fish understand what Henry was trying to say. He said with a nod, "It's what you're comfortable with."

"Precisely," Henry said. "I have tried to embrace this modern era of acceptance. I even marched in the Vancouver Gay Pride Parade last July. But to be perfectly honest, Joe, even though I'm immortal, I never thought I would see the day when I could walk down the street holding another man's hand."

Fish started to wonder if history had been downplaying the prejudices if Henry thought that way. He said, "And now in Canada two men can marry."

"An astonishing thing to me," Henry said and then paused. He lowered his voice softly and said, "Joe, since, I've met you… I've never… I haven't…"

Henry's voice trailed off but Fish spoke before he could say anything else, "I'm not asking for anything here. I'm not expecting anything."

"You don't need to, Joe… I…" Henry said, quietly. He stopped and then opened his mouth and took a breath as if to continue but then closed his mouth again and shook his head.

Fish stood up and sat down with his legs straddling Henry's, facing the other man. He put his arms around Henry's neck, running his fingers through the back of Henry's now short hair.

"I don't need promises, Henry. I just want to spend time what little time we have together," Fish said. He leaned forward and pressed his lips into Henry's. Fish had intended the kiss to be bold and passionate but instead he found himself kissing Henry with a slow tenderness and it was returned in kind. Henry's arms wrapped around him, his hands sliding up between Fish's shoulder blades. Fish found himself melting into the embrace.

Henry's hands slid back down, cupping Fish's arse and pulling him in closer. He was pressed flush into Henry now and Fish moaned into his mouth. Feeling bold, Fish seized Henry's shoulders and pushed the other man flat onto the sofa, laying between his legs. Smiling, Fish dipped his head, peppering Henry's neck with kisses and giving into his earlier impulse. He unfastened the buttons on Henry's shirt and pulled the cloth aside, latching his lips onto Henry's collarbone and Henry let out a cry of delight. Once Fish had sucked up a mark, he ran his tongue along the skin, feeling the hard bone beneath. He dipped his tongue into the hollow of Henry's throat and moved to the other collarbone. Henry was beginning to tremble beneath him. He brought his thighs up, wrapping his legs around Fish's hips, using his calves to press Fish's body into his. Henry tugged at Fish's jumper and the grey wool dropped to the floor as Henry's long fingers attacked the buttons on Fish's shirt.

Last night, the thought of the bedroom mere metres away from the sofa had terrified Fish and now all he wanted was to fall into bed with Henry. He wanted to touch and taste every inch of this man. He'd never been so turned on in his life. Henry's own purple shirt was now in a puddle on the floor and, impatient, Fish yanked off his own. He heard the sound of plastic hitting something as the cuff button popped off. The two men laughed as Henry dragged Fish down for another deep kiss, thrusting his own hips upwards into Fish's. Every inch of his skin was tingling. Where ever Henry's fingertips touched, Fish felt sparks. He slammed his eyes shut as he felt Henry's mouth latch onto his nipple. White flashes of pleasure burst behind his eyelids as he cried out.

"Oh God!" Fish shouted.

Henry's fingers reached for Fish's jeans and he heard and felt each button of the flies being undone. The two men were hungry for each other, desperate to touch and taste. Fish wondered if they shouldn't move towards the bedroom but the minute he opened his mouth to make the suggestion, it came out a garbled cry. Henry's slim fingers had slid into his pants and were wrapped around his hard cock. Overwhelmed by the desire coursing through him, Fish gave himself over to the sensations, moaning loudly and thrusting into Henry's hand.

"Holy fuck," Fish gasped, feeling Henry suck a mark up on his neck.

Suddenly, Fish realised he had been so lost in his own sensations, he'd fallen behind in this encounter and that wouldn't do. Trying to clear his lust fogged mind, he used one arm to support his weight as he fumbled at Henry's trouser button and flies with the other. He dipped his head down, letting his lips trail long Henry's jawline and Henry moaned loudly while Fish sucking up another mark up on his neck. The moan turned into a wordless shout as Fish reached into Henry's pants and wrapped his hand around Henry's own erection.

"Oh! Yes… like that… don't stop…" Henry gasped.

Fish continued to stroke him slowly but firmly, sliding Henry's foreskin over his glans as the other man panted and moaned. So lost in each other and their mutual pleasure, both men didn't hear the alarm going off on Fish's mobile.

Henry added a slight twist to his wrist and Fish's shoulders started to tremble. Henry felt his own eyes roll back into his head when Fish's hand increased its pace on him. Every so often the tips of their erections would brush against each other and both men would gasp. Henry let go of Fish's cock for a moment as he shoved his own trousers and pants further down on his thighs. Before reaching for Fish again, he did the same to him. He would have preferred them to be nude on the bed but something about the two of them half dressed on the sofa was intoxicating.

Fish had been so concentrated on pleasing Henry that he hadn't noticed his own rapidly approaching orgasm until a jolt shot up his spine. He buried his face in the crook of Henry's neck and moaned as he thrust into Henry's hand, feeling Henry thrusting into his with more force and speed. He wanted to move to the bed but it was too late. Fish couldn't stop this now if he wanted to.

"Joe… faster…" Henry whispered.

Fish lifted his head to stare down into Henry's lust blow eyes, deep pools of black rimmed with green. Those eyes suddenly slammed shut and Henry screamed. His back arched and the cock in Fish's hand was spasming wildly, spurting hot come onto his hand and Henry's own chest and belly.

"Fuck… oh holy fuck… Henry! I…" he said softly but felt his orgasm slam through him and the rest came out a garbled scream. He buried his face back into the crook of Henry's neck, the throw pillow beneath Henry's head muffling the scream. His own cock spattering Henry more with hot come.

Completely spent, Fish collapsed onto Henry, the two men panting heavily. Henry let go of Fish's softening cock and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. Ignoring the mess between them, Fish pressed his own body into Henry's, breathing in the scent of the other man and the sex.

"So much for just talking," Fish said with a soft chuckle, feeling Henry chuckle as well. The two began to kiss softly, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. Fish lifted his head and kissed the tip of Henry's nose.

Henry let his fingers trail down Fish's cheek, staring into his eyes. "Joe… I-"

Suddenly, Fish's mobile started to blare and the two men leap apart. Henry even shouted out in surprise.

"Fuck all!" Fish cried. Ignoring his come spattered state, he dove for the mobile. He'd completely lost track of time. Before coming up to Henry's room, fearing precisely this situation, Fish had set two alarms on his phone with two separate sounds. The first alarm had already gone off and this was the sound of the second alarm.

Henry sat up. "What time were you supposed to be at work, Joe?"

"I have to be in the car park at the music college in ten minutes," Fish said, a bit frantic.

Henry bolted off of the sofa and Fish heard the sound of a tap. When Henry returned to the room, he had a deep green shirt in one hand and a warm wet flannel in the other. He'd already wiped himself clean. He tossed the flannel and Fish caught it. He started to wipe down his chest and belly. He dropped the flannel onto the coffee table and then examined his jeans for any mess as he buttoned them back up.

"I'll have your shirt dry cleaned with the hotel's service," Henry said, holding out the shirt in his hands. "This should fit you well enough. We're nearly the same size."

Fish took the shirt and put it on, doing up the buttons as fast as he could. "Henry-"

"Don't apologise, Joe," Henry said. "As much as I would like to keep you here, I understand. You've said already that lives hang in the balance. If you must be somewhere in the middle of the night, it must be important."

"Thank you," Fish said, kissing Henry softly, cupping the other man's face.

When Fish went to let go, Henry grabbed his wrists to stop him. "Would… could you come back here after you're done with work?"

"Henry, I don't know how late I'll be," Fish said.

"I don't care what time it is. Please, Joe," Henry begged. He wore the same pleading and pained expression Fish had seen on him this morning and Fish couldn't say no.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his thumbs across Henry's cheeks.

"Joe…" Henry started to say then trailed off. "Be careful, please."

"I will, Henry… I…" Fish said and then bit back the rest. _No. It's not possible_. He told himself. The words 'I love you' nearly escaped his lips.


	17. Chapter 17

Ianto strolled down the toe path slowly, glancing up as he passed a few other men. Some were just walking slowly, keeping their distance from him and others were standing next to trees or lamp posts. He knew that Jack was further down the path and that Fish was behind him, back towards the more grassy area. Ianto had chuckled a bit when Fish had shown up nearly fifteen minutes late. The man had reeked of sex, was wearing a shirt that was clearly the wrong size for him and had a fresh love bite on his neck. It had taken a considerable amount of will power but he'd resisting tearing the mickey out of the Australian.

Instead, the team had set to work. They'd started their search up by the north end of the park and were slowly making their way further down. So far, their search had found nothing. The next step would be the mens' toilet further down the park and that he was not looking forward to. Most of the men who frequented the toilets would be hidden away in stalls and it would make their search more difficult.

This operation was bringing up memories for Ianto. When he had first stalked Jack, he had followed the man through this very same park. He'd watched on from a distance as Jack had made eye contact with a dark haired man leaning against a lamp post. The two men had done a strange sort of dance. Ianto had watched on, fascinated as the two men had communicated without speaking a word. Jack had moved into the more wooded area and the other man had followed. Ianto had crept in carefully so as not to be seen or heard. He'd been shocked to find the captain on his knees in front of the other man, his greatcoat pooled behind him. It was how he knew Jack would be here that day he'd clubbed a Weevil with a tree branch. Tonight, oddly enough, Ianto was wearing the very same outfit he'd worn then.

At the time, Ianto had been loathed to think that sex would be his way into Torchwood Three but he'd been so desperate to save Lisa, he would've done anything. He saw the way Jack had leered at him that night in the park, so when he'd decided to show up at the Tourist Office with coffee, he'd extended the rock star look. He'd flirted. He'd smiled but he'd failed. And then he put on his best suit and caught a pterodactyl. That moment had brought Ianto nothing but confusion, similar to what Fish was now experiencing with Henry. Laying there beneath Jack, rock hard and breathing in lungfuls of fifty first century pheromones, Ianto had been nearly overwhelmed by the desire to kiss the man beneath him. He smiled at the memory. He may have beguiled his way into Torchwood Three but now he couldn't imagine anywhere else he'd rather be.

He shook his head, chastising himself for the daydreaming. He looked around and saw a young man leaning against a tree, smoking a fag. He was thin but looked nothing like Gareth Harding and was shorter than Ianto. His hair was dyed blonde and he was wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt. His jeans were half done up. Ianto saw a few condom wrappers poking out of the jean pockets. _A rent boy_… He wondered if maybe questioning someone might help. Ianto caught the young man's eye who took a long drag off of the cigarette and then tossed it aside, stomping on it with a tatted trainer. He walked off a bit and then stopped. Ianto went to lean against the same tree. After catching the blonde's eye again, he turned towards the wooded area behind him. He didn't have time to signal the others of his plan. He found a secluded area and waited, finding his own tree to lean against.

The blonde man appeared a few moments later. He was holding a condom out to Ianto in one hand and unzipping his flies the rest of the way with the other. Ianto took the condom from him.

"Forty," he muttered hastily.

Ianto stood there for a moment, thinking of how to begin. There was a code of silence here that was rarely broken. Encounters and transactions generally took place with as little speaking as possible.

"Oi! I ain't got all night," the blonde snapped.

Ianto took out his wallet and reached into it for a few notes. The blonde planted one of his hands against a nearby tree and shoved his jeans down around his thighs, spreading his legs, holding out his hand for the notes.

"What can I get for eighty?" Ianto asked.

"Whatever you want, mate," the blonde said, turning around. He had his soft dick in his hand, stroking it.

"Information," Ianto said.

The other man's eyes went wide and he yanked up his clothes. He fastened his jeans with lightning speed. He was about to take off when Ianto yanked all the notes from his wallet and barked out, "A hundred."

The blonde eyed the notes. His hand twitched towards his back pocket and Ianto wondered if there was a weapon there.

"What you want to know?" he asked.

"Have you seen someone tall, thin, very long arms and legs? Light brown hair? Blue eyes? He's in your line of work."

"You a cop?" the blonde asked, suspiciously.

Ianto shook his head and the blonde gave him a thorough once over. Ianto stood absolutely still, trying to appear as ordinary and non-threatening as possible.

"Neck like a fucking giraffe?" the blonde asked.

Ianto's eyes went wide. "Yes! Where?"

"He works down by the toilets, other side of the river," the blonde said, jerking his head over his shoulder.

"Thanks. Be careful out here," Ianto said as he folded the notes in half and handed them to the young man. He turned and started to walk back towards the toe path, tapping his comm unit. "Jack? I just talked to one of the rent boys. He's seen Harding. He works the toilets on the other side of the river. Oh and by the way, I'm putting in an expense report for a hundred quid."

"I don't want to know, Ifan," Miranda chuckled into his ear. "We'll wait here for you boys. It'll be faster if we drive over there. Fish? Jack? You copy that?"

"I'm on my way, Will," Jack said.

"Fish?" Miranda asked and then waited.

"Fish?" Jack shouted.

They all waited for a reply that never came.

"Ianto, head back down the path and find Fish, I'm right behind you," Jack said.

By then, Ianto had reached the toe path and took off in a slow jog, looking left and right for the Australian. In the distance, Ianto could hear the sound of booted feet and knew it must be Jack running to catch up behind him but he also heard the sounds of rustling leaves. It was the sounds of a scuffle to his right. Ianto swerved into the tree line, making sure to disturb the edge so Jack would know where he'd gone. Up ahead, in a small clearing, Ianto saw Fish exchanging blows with another man and the glint of a knife. He picked up his speed as he raced towards his team mate but by the time Ianto got there, the other man was unconscious. Fish whirled, his fist raised to defend himself against the new intruder.

"Woah! Fish it's me!" Ianto shouted as he raised his own hands. He saw that Fish's comm unit was missing and there was blood running down his face. The technician was clutching at a wound to his side. The deep green shirt was torn and stained with blood. Ianto immediately started examining Fish's wounds. The head wound was bleeding a great deal and would likely require stitches but Ianto was concerned about the wound to Fish's side. It was much deeper than the one to his head but Ianto couldn't examine it well in the poor light.

"Hold still, mate," Ianto said as he tilted his mobile phone, trying to use the screen as a torch. The wound to Fish's side was deep enough to need stitches but Ianto didn't believe it had gone any deeper than the skin.

He tapped his comm unit, "Mandy? Fish has been hurt but not seriously. His comm unit's gone. We're going to head for the car park. You should head to the other side of the river without us."

"I'm good, mate. Just a bump on the head and a nick to the side," Fish said.

Just as the two of them were heading back towards the toe path, Jack's voice came over Ianto's comm unit. "Ianto? Will's going to wait here for you two. She's got the portable medical kit. Gwen and I are heading across the river."

"Right, Jack," Ianto said. He turned to Fish, "What happened?"

"Thought maybe I'd see if any of the rent boys around here knew anything," Fish said as he wiped more blood from his head and clutched at his side. "What a complete cock up. I shouldn't have done."

"I had the same idea," Ianto said, "but the bloke I talked to didn't try to rob me first."

"You said they're going across the river?" Fish asked.

"Yeah, the rent boy I talked to said he'd seen Harding working the toilets on the other side, by the car park," Ianto said with a shrug. "Cost me a hundred quid."

"At least you do all the expense reports," Fish chuckled and then winced. "I don't know what I did wrong. He was leaning against the post. I did just as Jack said. That wanker just jumped me. Thank God for Evie's hand to hand combat training."

"You probably did everything right, mate. It's fucking dangerous out here," Ianto said.

The two of them continued down the foot path. They were about to reach the gate when Fish stopped. "Ianto, wait up a second…"

"Fish? You okay? We're almost there," Ianto grabbed Fish's arm to steady him when he saw his friend waiver.

"I feel really strange, mate… dizzy… like I'm going to be sick…" Fish said, bent over with his hands on his knees.

Ianto tapped his comm unit, opening a private channel to Miranda. "Mandy? We're nearly to the gate, can you call an ambulance for Fish? I think he's hurt worse than I thought."

"What's wrong, Ianto? Describe it to me," came her worried voice.

"He says he's dizzy and nauseous. It does look like he's gotten a pretty good knock to the head," Ianto said. "He's also got a knife wound to his side. It's deep enough to need stitches."

"Ianto, I don't think…" Fish's voice trailed off as his knees gave way and he collapsed.

"FISH!" Ianto grabbed him to keep him from injuring himself further as he fell. As he eased him to the ground, Ianto heard the gate slam and Miranda's feet running towards them. He also heard the sound of a distant siren in the background as Miranda knelt to examine Fish.

"He was fine and then he just collapsed," Ianto said as he started to look for addition injuries.

Ianto lifted his head as he heard tyres squealing. The paramedics were wheeling a gurney over to them.

"Ma'am, step away please," they said.

"I'm a physician and your dispatcher should have told you that we are Torchwood," Miranda said but she stepped aside for the paramedics anyway. "Ryan, Miranda, Torchwood authorisation alpha, five, seven, three, november, foxtrot, four one one six. We're going straight to University hospital."


	18. Chapter 18

Henry bolted through the front door of University Hospital. Slightly out of breath, he skidded to a halt in front of the desk, nearly slipping on the tiles.

"I'm looking for Joseph Fischer," he gasped.

"Are you friend or family, sir?" the young woman behind the desk asked, a little startled.

"Family. He's my partner," Henry said without thinking.

"Just a moment, please," she said and started to type into her computer.

It felt like an eternity while he waited. Desperation was on every inch of his face and his heart pounded in his chest. His stomach had been in knots since Miranda had called him. He'd fought back tears the entire taxi ride here, begging and praying that Fish was okay. Finally the receptionist looked up and said, "He's still in A&E, sir, curtain four."

"Where?" he begged, looking left and right for some sort of sign.

"It's down that hallway," the receptionist said, pointing to her right, "but I need you to… Sir, wait!"

Henry didn't wait. The minute he knew what direction to go, he bolted down the hallway. He followed the signs that led him to the A&E. He ran into the large busy room and jogged along the row of curtained areas. He checked every single bed looking for his lover, drawing strange stares from the staff.

"Your grace?" Miranda said from behind him.

"Where is he?" Henry demanded, whirling around.

"Your grace-" she broke off when Henry seized her by the arms hard enough to bruise and shook her firmly.

"Mao-Lin, WHERE?!" the last word came out like a roar and drew stares. She snapped her arms around, shaking off Henry's grip.

"He's in the radiology department, being scanned," she said. She snagging Henry's arm with all her strength as he tried to bolt away from her. "You must calm down, your grace, please. He will be back in a few moments."

She dragged Henry over to Fish's bed and pushed him down into the chair. "Sit down. Breath, Henry."

Henry closed his eyes. He inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly as he rolled his shoulders. It was a sequence of movements that Miranda had taught Henry during his training and that her own teacher had taught to her. She taught it to all her students, but Henry was the only one who had taken to it. Miranda watched as the anxiousness drained from Henry's face but not completely. He was still near tears and very anxious.

"What happened?" he demanded, gripping the arms of the chair almost white knuckle.

"It was an undercover operation in Bute Park. We are investigating someone who is working there as a rent boy. Fish attempted to question one of the rent boys under the guise of soliciting him and he was attacked. He has a concussion and a small knife wound to his side."

Henry's eyes went wide with fear and he stood back up. "He was stabbed?!"

"The knife wound is superficial, it required stitches, nothing more," she explained. "They are keeping him here until the morning for observation and tomorrow he will need to rest. He's going to be fine."

He turned to Miranda, angry. With the commanding tone Fish found so annoying, he nearly shouted, "He said he's an engineer, working with technologies. What is he doing questioning suspects? What place does he have doing undercover work?"

"I am sorry, my Lord Richmond, I cannot explain the nature of our work. I can tell you that Fish does do technology and engineering work for us but he is also a highly trained and capable field agent." Miranda said softly. "We did not throw him to the wolves, your grace."

Henry resumed his pacing. His right arm was across his belly, his left elbow was bent and resting on his right hand. His left index finger was hooked over his top lip as he paced back and forth.

"Where are they?" he hissed every few seconds.

"Your grace, calm yourself, please," Miranda said, trying to soothe her former student. "This restlessness helps no one."

Henry glared at her and then continued to pace.

Suddenly, he stopped and bolted past Miranda shouting, "Joe!"

Miranda turned to see the staff pushing Fish back in a wheelchair. Henry grabbed Fish's face with both hands and kissed him.

"Joe, are you all right?" Henry asked and then kissed Fish again before he could answer.

"Henry," Fish started but was stopped by another desperate kiss. "I'm fine."

Henry pressed his lips to Fish's again and Fish coloured with embarrassment. The staff helped Fish back into bed and then left the two men alone.

Miranda stepped forward towards the doctor. "Doctor Malcolm, I appreciate your expedience."

"You're most welcome, Doctor Ryan," he said. "The scan is clear but I'd like to keep Doctor Fischer here until the morning, just for observation. A precaution, as we've previously discussed. He needs rest."

"I understand," Miranda said turning towards the two men who were clinging to each other. "I'm sure he's in capable hands."

The other doctor smiled. "I can see that. Good night, Doctor Ryan."

"Good night, Doctor Malcolm and thank you again," Miranda said as she turned back to the two lovers.

Miranda hung back, watching the two men. Henry still hadn't let go of Fish's face and Fish had his hands up on Henry's wrists. Their foreheads were pressed together and Fish's eyes were closed. Miranda had had mixed feelings about the romantic involvement of her two friends. She'd known Henry for hundreds of years, instructing him in the Game and the sword. The young man was not an active participant in the Game and, like Miranda, he fought only to defend himself. Henry was a sensitive and gentle man who found the violence of the Game abhorrent. He did not love often, more given to fanciful flings and one night stands.

Miranda watched on as Henry's thumbs brushed Fish's cheeks. It was clear as day to her that this was not one of those fanciful flings. They were in love. Now, she felt badly for what she'd said to Fish about Henry's history. She'd only feared for Fish's heart and now she feared for both of them. Miranda looked on and felt pity. She knew this could only end in tears, either when Henry left on Thursday or when Miranda loaded Joseph Fischer into a drawer in the Hub's morgue.

Fish finally noticed Miranda standing at a distance behind Henry. He pulled back out of Henry's grasp and turned to face his boss. "What happened at the park, Evie? Please tell me this didn't cock everything up?"

"No it didn't, Fish. When Jack and Gwen got to the other side of the river, he wasn't there," she said with a shake of her head, "but now we know where to find him. We'll go back tomorrow night."

Fish went to get up out of the bed but Henry held him down as did Miranda.

"Don't even think about it, Fish," she said, firmly. "You are staying in hospital until morning for observation-"

"Evie, I feel fine," he interrupted.

"-and you will be taking tomorrow off," she continued, talking over the objection. "I don't want to see you at the Hub before ten."

"Evie-"

"This is not up for discussion, Fish," she said. She flicked her gaze to Henry. "I leave him in your capable hands, my Lord Richmond. Good night, boys."

Once they were alone, Henry sat down next to Fish in the bed. He wrapped his arm around his lover's shoulders and pulled him in close.

"Henry…" Fish started.

"It's all right, Joe. I understand you cannot explain," Henry said, kissing Fish's temple. "I thank God in heaven that you are all right. Are you in any pain?"

"I'm fine, Henry, really. They've got me on some pretty good pain killers," Fish said, leaning into the embrace. He failed to stifle a yawn. "You don't have to stay."

"I'm not going anywhere," Henry said, brushing his fingertips down Fish's cheek. "Sleep, Joe."

"Not tired…" Fish said, groggily and Henry smiled as he once again heard the soft sound of Fish's snoring. He reached up to brush his hands through Fish's hair and encountered roughness. Curious, he leaned forward as much as he could without disturbing his lover and saw the stitches next to Fish's hairline. Anger and despair rose up in Henry's chest and his arms tightened around Fish as he fought back tears. He had had no idea the nature of Fish's work was so dangerous. He'd imagined his lover bent over computers and circuit boards, not defending himself against a knife attack. The curtain was gently drawn back and a nurse stepped next to the bed. She smiled fondly at the two men.

"Did they get much?" she asked.

"Pardon?" Henry asked, confused.

"The muggers?" as she wrote down a few things on her clipboard.

Henry realised Miranda must have given some sort of cover story for Fish's injuries. "I don't know. I wasn't there. Do you need me to wake him?"

She shook her head. "No, the doctor will want to re-examine him before he leaves but your husband can sleep for a while."

Before Henry could correct her, she was gone. Henry pressed another kiss to Fish's head and then tugged the blankets up over him more with his left hand and then understood the nurse's mistake. He was still wearing his ring. He sat there all night, next to Fish, listening to him breathe and snore softly as he slept. His mind turned the situation over and over while he waited for morning. While he thought, he twirled the ring on his finger. He hadn't always worn it as a wedding band and it wasn't really one. The wide gold band with a single ruby had been a gift from a lover who was long dead.

Henry felt his throat constrict at the memory. While Miranda had taken on a variety of trades and professions in her long life, Henry was adept at only one thing, art. It had been the eighteenth century and he'd been living in America. A wealthy plantation owner had requested a portrait of his son, Matthew who he had called 'a hero of the revolution'. But Matthew hadn't wanted the portrait at all. All he'd wanted was to box away war and never think of it again. Instead of drawing or painting, Henry had spent quiet afternoons talking with Matthew. The two of them had fallen in love. Henry had finished the portrait but Matthew's father never lived to see it. Matthew moved Henry into the mansion and the two lived happily together. There had been whispers, of course, but they'd ignored them. Just after his sixtieth birthday, Matthew had suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed, unable to speak. Henry had cared for him for years until one day, exhausted, he'd fallen asleep beside his sickbed. When he woke, Matthew was gone. He had died in his sleep.

Miranda had often told Henry that moving on didn't mean you were forgetting those who had come before. She always told him that loving again didn't diminish what was shared with those in the past. It was easier said than done for both of them. Matthew had known the truth of Henry's immortality. He knew that Matthew would've wanted him to move on and love again but Henry couldn't help send up a silent apology to Matthew as he tugged the ring from his left hand and moved it to his right. Henry leaned his head against Fish's, enjoying the feel of the man next to him. He would have to talk to Fish. There must be a way the two of them could make this work.

As time wore on, Henry felt fatigue creeping into his body but he couldn't sleep. He was far too worried about Fish's condition. He knew he should let his lover rest but the old fashioned recommendation to continually wake a concussed person was rattling in his head like a siren. He sat there next to Fish, watching him breathe, terrified that like Matthew, he would be stolen from him while he slept.

The hours crept on and in the morning, the doctor re-examined him and released Fish into Henry's care. The two men were sitting in the back of a taxi, the driver waiting to learn their destination.

Henry asked, "Do you want me to take you back to your flat, Joe?"

"Yeah, twenty six Winchester Avenue," Fish said to the driver and settled back against the seat. He still had a headache and felt a bit dizzy. He must have dozed off again because the next thing he knew Henry was helping him out of the taxi. Henry paid the driver and then Fish started searching through his bag for his keys.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Fish said. "My keys are probably at the Hub with Evie."

They looked down the road but the taxi was already gone. Unable to suppress a groan, Fish reached forward and hit the bell for his neighbor.

"Yes?" came an elderly voice.

"Mrs. Foster? It's Joe Fischer from next door. I've lost my keys, do you mind letting me in?" Fish asked with dread in his eyes.

"Certainly, my dear," she said brightly and Fish heard the buzzer on the door ring.

Henry and Fish walked into the building and Fish turned to Henry quickly to say, "Mrs. Foster is the elderly widow in the flat opposite me. She's the nosiest woman in the whole of Britain and quite possibly all of Europe. It's going to be a nightmare trying to get away from her. My spare key is hidden under that pot in the corner."

While Henry went to retrieve the hidden key, a silver haired woman in her seventies leaned across the upstairs railing. She was still in her dressing gown. "Good God, dear boy, what happened to you?!"

"I was mugged, Mrs. Foster. I'm fine," Fish said, lying easily.

"Good heaven! Did they take much? Have you phoned the police?" she asked.

Henry stood back up, key in hand.

"And who is this?" Mrs. Foster asked with interest as the two men came up the stairs. "A relative?"

Fish didn't hesitate to correct her. "This is my boyfriend, Mrs. Foster."

"Your what?" she asked, not bothering to hide her shock.

"My boyfriend," Fish repeated, louder this time. He was surprised he felt no embarrassment at the admission.

When they reached the top of the stairs, with a charm worthy of Jack Harkness, Henry dropped an old fashioned sort of bow with his hand extended in front of him. Mrs. Foster took his hand to shake it but Henry didn't let go. He stood up and dramatically kissed her hand. When he stood up he said, "Henry Blount. It is lovely to have made your acquaintance, ma'am."

"Evangeline Foster," she said, blushing like a school girl.

"My deepest apologies for our abruptness, Mrs. Foster. The doctors have prescribed rest for Joe. I'm sure you understand," Henry said, unlocking Fish's door quickly and ushering him inside without another word.

Fish leaned against the shut door and turned to Henry. "I have no idea how you did that."

"Did what?" Henry asked.

"Whenever I get caught in the hallway with her, it takes me forever to escape," Fish said.

"My father spent much of his time with people who wanted nothing more than to talk his ear off. I learned a thing or two," Henry said with a smile as he eased Fish's coat off of his shoulders and hung it on the hook next to the door. He turned around, looking about the small flat and raising his brow a bit. His hotel suite was much larger. Some of Fish's possessions were still in boxes, taped away and labeled with whatever was inside. The shelves were sparse and the furniture mismatched. The only personal items that Fish had added to the flat were a few scattered pictures on a mostly empty bookshelf.

Fish took the extra key from Henry and dropped it into the dish on his counter. "Sorry, it's a bit of a mess but make yourself at home. It's not much."

Henry smiled and said, "Boyfriend, eh?"

Fish coloured bright scarlet, not looking up at Henry. He shouldn't have presumed but he hadn't wanted to make up some story about who Henry was either. "I'm sorry, Henry. I didn't know what else to say."

"It's fine, Joe," Henry said with a broad smile. "Let's get you into a hot shower. I'll see if I can find something for you to eat."

"The water heater is terrible. Luke warm is all you can hope for," Fish said as he disappeared into his bedroom. "And I don't know what's in the fridge. I eat at work a lot."

"Perhaps I should annoy Mao-Lin to give you pay rise," Henry joked. He opened the fridge, finding it mostly devoid of food and drink. There was little more than condiments and a half full jar of gherkins.

"It's not the money, Henry," Fish shouted from the bedroom. "I'm paid well enough. I just spend so little time here, it hasn't really been worth the trouble of moving."

Henry opened a few more cupboards. There were a few dry goods, some crackers and some crisps but nothing to make a meal out of. He shook his head. "Why don't you pack some things, Joe and we'll go back to my suite? It might not be your own bed, but at least there you can have a hot shower."

Fish emerged out of the bedroom carrying an overnight bag and smiling. "That was my thinking too."


	19. Chapter 19

Ianto arranged the breakfast dishes for the parasite infected girl on a tray. Miranda had informed everyone Fish was well aside from quite a few stitches and a concussion. He would return to work tomorrow. Ianto had wanted to check in on the technician himself but Miranda had said she'd left Fish in Henry's care and Ianto didn't want to intrude on what little time the two men had together.

He carried the tray across the main Hub and down the east stairs. He'd selected different food this morning. She hadn't touched any of the food he'd brought her yesterday. This morning he went with eggs and selection of fruit. When he descended the stairs, Ianto turned the corner and saw her laying on the bench, curled in a ball. This was the first time she wasn't awake.

"Good morning, breakfast?" Ianto asked as he pushed the tray under the slot. He rapped his knuckles on the plexiglass. "Are you all right?"

Ianto narrowed his eyes, the girl was breathing but unresponsive. He knocked on the glass harder and she stayed still, breathing slow and even. He left the tray where it was and walked back into the main Hub.

He leaned over the autopsy bay railing and said, "Mandy? Do you mind coming down and taking a look at our prisoner? There's something very wrong. She's unresponsive."

Miranda stood up, grabbed her portable medical scanner and jogged down towards the cells. She'd been expecting something like this.

"Cover me, Ifan," Miranda said, opening the cell door.

Ianto drew his gun and raised it, watching the alien. Miranda carefully approached the alien with slow movements. She ran the scanner across her and then backed away, shutting the cell door so she could look at the read out in safety. The twenty sixth century scanner was a gem that had fallen through the rift last year. It gave Miranda basic vital signs without having to touch the person she scanned.

"She's alive," Miranda said. "I need to get her into the autopsy bay and under the main scanner. Get me one of the sedatives, Ifan, if you please. I don't think it's necessary but I don't want to take any chances."

Ianto returned with the syringe and raised his gun again as Miranda entered the cell. She injected the sedative into the alien's arm with no response.

After a few minutes, Miranda said, "I think we can move her safely now."

Together, they carried the girl up into the autopsy bay. Ianto had offered to fetch the gurney but she was light and the gurney was useless on the stairs. Startled, Gwen followed them to see if there was something she could do to help and Miranda sent her to fetch Jack. By the time Jack entered the bay, the scan was complete and Miranda had skimmed through the results.

"What's going on, Will?" Jack asked, jutting his chin towards the girl on the autopsy table.

"She's sedated, Jack, though there was no need," she said with a sigh. "The parasite is dead but Jessica Rees is still biologically alive. I don't know for how long though."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

Miranda brought up the medical scanner readout, pointing to the image of the girl's brain and the EEG readout. The futuristic scanner had fallen through the rift back in the fifties. It was only slightly better than what was currently available. She waved at the readout dancing across the screen.

"According to this, she's most likely in a permanent vegetative state and it's possible that her autonomic functions could cease at any moment depending on how much she was relying on the parasite," she said. She turned her glance down and said gently, "There is nothing to be done for her, Jack. We should end it."

Jack stood with his arms across his chest, hands gripping his biceps. His head was down, he was staring at the floor. It was a few minutes before he spoke. When he lifted his head, his eyes looked hooded.

"Do it," he said, softly and then turned and left the room. Ianto left the room as well, following his lover.

Gwen stood there, numb as she watched Miranda place a canula in the girl's arm. She turned towards the pharmaceutical cabinet and drew up a lethal dosage of anaesthetic. If it weren't for the alien parasite, Miranda would have used a street drug. Ianto would've dumped the body in a well known crime area, cementing the idea with the police that this teenage runaway had succumbed to drug use.

Since her discovery of Flat Holm, Gwen tried as often as possible to ensure bodies were returned to their families and that any cover stories Torchwood invented gave families closure, but that wouldn't be possible here. The presence of the alien parasite meant that Jessica Rees's body could never be returned to her family. Scrubbing tears from her face, Gwen dragged Miranda's desk chair over to the girl's side, sat down and took her hand in his own.

"You don't have to stay, Gwen," Miranda said as she bent over the girl's other arm.

She scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks again and said, "No one should die alone, Miranda."

"She isn't aware," she said gently.

"It doesn't matter," Gwen said, firmly, rubbing the girl's arm.

Miranda nodded and squeezed Gwen's shoulder gently. Her face grim, Miranda bent over Jessica Rees's arm and injected the medication into the port. Within a matter of seconds, her slow even breathing had stopped. Gwen didn't look up as Miranda put her stethoscope into her ears and pressed the bell to the still chest. She listened and heard nothing. She stood up and tugged the stethoscope from her ears. After draping it around her neck, she sent up a silent prayer for the girl's soul. She'd perform the autopsy shortly, once Gwen had left the room.

Her eyes filled with tears, Gwen crossed to the cupboard and took out a sheet. She carefully unfolded it and laid it across the girl's body, covering her completely.

"I'm going to talk to Jack," Miranda said as she walked up the bay stairs.

Gwen saw Miranda's right hand in her trouser pocket, no doubt fingering the rosary beads the immortal woman seemed to carry at all times.

Once she was alone in the room, Gwen pushed the sheet back, taking hold of the girl's hand again. She laid her other hand on the Jessica Rees's covered forehead and leaned down close to the girl's ear.

Her cheeks wet with tears, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."


	20. Chapter 20

Ignoring the fact that Fish had two dozen stitches in his side and half a dozen in his head, the day had been perfect. After they'd returned to Henry's hotel room, Fish had showered while Henry had raided the local chemist shop. Henry had spent the entire morning taking care of him, acting the perfect mother hen. He'd cleaned and redressed his wounds and filled all his prescriptions. He'd made sure Fish had eaten and slept and taken his medications on time.

When Fish had woken around lunchtime, Henry was in the same place he'd always been every time Fish woke - the arm chair in the bedroom with his sketchbook in his lap. They'd gone out for a pleasant lunch of fish and chips that they'd sat eating by the bay. Henry had worried that Fish, in such close proximity to his job, would want to return to work but it hadn't come up once.

The rest of the afternoon, the two men had spent their time on the sofa in Henry's hotel suite. Fish couldn't remember the last time he spent the entire afternoon in front of the telly. He'd sat there laughing at the absurdity of the daytime television with Henry's legs in his lap. On top of Henry's legs was an open bag of crisps. Henry, as usual, had his sketchbook open in his own lap, ignoring the telly and drawing Fish.

At first the constant sketching had made Fish self conscious. He didn't understand why Henry could possibly want to sketch him while he slept or shaved or ate crisps. In the end, Fish had shrugged it off and the activity had moved into the background of his mind. Every once in a while, he'd lean over and glance at Henry's progress, some of the sketches making him smile while others had him rolling his eyes at the strangeness.

Fish wiped some of the grease and salt off of his fingers onto his tracksuit bottoms, not really caring that it was impolite. He was more comfortable with Henry than he'd felt with anyone in a long time and right now felt more normal than anything had in years. He was sitting in front of the telly, enjoying a simple, quiet afternoon off from work with someone he cared about. It was strange that he didn't feel the need to be doing something. He didn't feel like he and Henry should be talking or fooling around or anything else.

Stranger still was the fact that when he was forced to stay away from the Hub due to injury or sleep deprivation, Fish usually disobeyed, itching to get back to work. But not this time. The Hub, the alien parasite and the rift were the farthest things from Fish's mind. Okay, he did feel a slight niggling guilt in the back of his head for not caring but all of that would still be here tomorrow and Henry would not. A mobile phone started to ring and Fish leaned forward, thinking it was his own but the ringtone was wrong.

"You going to get that?" Fish asked as he pointed at Henry's mobile on the coffee table, blaring out Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

Henry shook his head and continued to glide pencil across paper as he ignored it. The mobile stopped ringing and not two minutes later, it rang again and again Henry ignored it. Fish could see the growing exasperation on Henry's face. When the mobile stopped ringing, Henry relaxed and returned to his drawing. Scarecly five minutes had gone by before the phone in the hotel suite began to ring.

"'Angels and ministers of grace defend us'," Henry snapped as he threw the pencil down and slammed the sketchbook shut. Henry allowed the room's phone to continue to ring.

"Hamlet, act one, scene four," Fish said as he reached into the bag for another crisp. "It might be important, Henry. Maybe you should answer it. I doubt it's a goblin."

Henry removed his legs from Fish's lap and looked at his mobile phone just as the hotel room's phone stopped ringing. The small light began to blink, indicating a message had been left. While he was looking at the missed calls list, the mobile started to ring in his hand.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Henry snapped. He resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room, instead he stood up and headed for the bedroom. "Excuse me, Joe."

Fish's eyes went wide. It was the first time he'd heard profanity from Henry's mouth. _Probably spending too much time around me_… Fish thought with a slight smile. Fish normally swore like a sailor. He left the telly on and resisted the urge to turn down the volume. He didn't want to eavesdrop on Henry's conversation but after a few moments, Henry's angry voice had risen to where Fish could hear his half of the conversation quite clearly.

"No… Of course, I'm taking this seriously, Trudy… No… Why the bloody hell not?… I am planning on Thursday but… I don't give a bloody hell what Paris is saying… Trudy, please, just a few more days… Well then cancel them and I'll fly back to Vancouver from here instead of Paris… No, I don't think that's a foolish decision… He wouldn't dare, do you know how much I bring into the gallery every year?…"

Henry continued to argue with whomever was on the phone. Fish tried his best to tune it out and not eavesdrop but it was clear that Henry was trying to delay leaving again. With a sigh, he dropped the crisp bag onto the coffee table and walked into the bedroom. Henry was nearly shouting into his phone, gesticulating with his arm. Fish reached out and grasped Henry's hand. Henry stopped in mid-shout and looked at him. Fish shook his head.

Henry sighed. He lowered his voice and said into his phone, sadly, "I'll be in London tomorrow, Trudy… Yes and Paris after that… Right… I'll see you in a few days… No, I'm fine… Yes… All right… Goodbye…" Henry disconnected the call with a sigh, tossing the phone onto the bed. "I'm sorry about that, Joe."

"You were trying to stay?" Fish asked even though he knew the answer.

"Just through the weekend. It appears our Paris branch is quite adamant that I keep to the schedule and the gallery owner has threatened to drop my representation. An idle threat, I'm sure," he said with the shake of his head. "Trudy Davenport has been my buyer there for years. I'm afraid I'm putting her in a bad position."

"It's fine, Henry," Fish said, even though it really wasn't. "We both always knew you were leaving."

Henry dropped the phone onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Fish's waist, pulling the other man in close. He laid his head down on Fish's shoulder and breathed in the smell of soap and Fish's aftershave.

"Joe-"

"Henry… please," Fish interrupted softly as he buried his nose in Henry's hair. He wrapped his arms around Henry and squeezed the other man gently. This wasn't the first time Henry had tried to bring up his upcoming departure and Fish would have none of it. He didn't want to waste their time with it. Henry was leaving and that was that. He didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to accept it and spend what little time they had together.

As with all of other Fish's evasions, Henry gave him. He merely nodded and tugged Fish in closer. He sniffled loudly and then cleared his throat when he let go of Fish and stepped back.

"How about we buy that film, Joe?" Henry asked. His smile was forced. "The one about the lawyer who practices out of his car? You said it looked good."

"Yeah, that sounds great Henry," Fish said, also with a forced smile. "Too bad we don't have any popcorn."

Henry broke into a genuine smile and dug into one of his cases. Fish gave Henry an amused look of disbelief as he took out a flat packet of un-popped microwave popcorn.

Henry blushed a bit and said, "Most hotels have microwaves and I have a weakness."

"For popcorn?" Fish chuckled.

"Microwave popcorn specifically," Henry said, embarrassed.

"The air popped with real butter is so much better, Henry!" Fish declared.

"It's not the popcorn. It's the microwave," Henry admitted, again embarrassed.

Fish laughed and snatched the packet out of Henry's hand and dashed for the other room. "I get to hit the buttons."

It took Henry a minute to react but he bolted after Fish crying out, "That's the best part!"

Like children, Henry and Fish battled over the microwave buttons and then knelt in front of the microwave, watching the bag swell and listening to the popcorn pop with boyish glee. When the microwave beeped, Henry reached in and started to pull the bag open.

"You fought me on every thing else but you let me open the scalding hot bag?" he asked with a laugh.

"You'll heal faster than I will if you burn yourself," Fish quipped, reaching in for a handful of the hot popcorn and then sat down on the sofa.

Henry laid down and pillowed his head in Fish's lap, resting the popcorn bag on his chest as the two of them settled down to watch the film.


	21. Chapter 21

It was late evening when Miranda had completed her autopsy of Jessica Rees and the xenopsy of the alien parasites. The rest of the team had spent the the whole day chasing down random hits on the facial recognition. Toshiko's program had turned up a number of them throughout the day. If Gareth Harding's face appeared on any camera in the city, it would trigger an alarm. The program was far from perfect because the cameras and their angles were far from perfect. None of the matches were spot on but they were investigated anyway. Each one had proven to be a false lead and everyone was beginning to get frustrated. Four people were dead and if they didn't catch up with Gareth Harding soon, there would be another body tomorrow.

Now, the Torchwood team minus one were gathered in the boardroom. There was no friendly banter over the soda can between Ianto and Miranda. The Chinese take away had been put into the Hub fridge, barely touched.

Without waiting for Jack's usual preamble, Miranda started to speak from her place at the foot of the table. "I completed the autopsy of Jessica Rees and the xenopsy of the parasites a few hours ago. There are a number of samples I'm going to have Fish process when he returns."

Miranda twisted in her chair. Her hands weren't steepled in front of her but folded in her lap.

"There were a lot of changes to Jessica Rees's body but her autopsy was unremarkable. Given her profession and the fact that she was living on the street, she was in good shape. There was no evidence of sexually transmitted disease. As for the changes to her body, there are a lot of unanswered questions there. Her DNA is unchanged. Her systems and tissues are no different than anyone else's. I have no idea how she's achieved the greater speed or endurance we saw."

"Any theories there, Will?" Jack asked.

"It's possible the parasite is inducing a heightened state of fight or flight," Miranda said with a shrug. "It's inconsequential."

"I don't think so Miranda," Gwen said. "The biology behind it maybe but if the parasite's doing it, it's important. Didn't she say that we were learned?"

"What are you after, Gwen?" Jack asked.

"Well, think about it. You learn something, you get better at it," Gwen said.

"The other parasite's been in his host for a hundred years," Ianto said. "He'll have a greater understanding of the human body, its limits and its capabilities."

"Which means he may have more speed and strength than we saw displayed in Jessica Rees." Miranda sighed and muttered an ancient curse under her breath.

"Ianto, I'm going to be taking point tonight," Jack said.

Ianto nodded and made no move to protest as Gwen and Jack debated back and forth whether or not Gareth Harding's strength and speed would reach super human qualities. Miranda wondered if there would be a protest made after hours about Jack's decision to take the lead tonight rather than have the two men searching jointly. She thought it unlikely.

If Jack had given the same order three years ago, Ianto would have made a polite and professional protest in the meeting followed by a more vocal one after hours. Miranda shared the Hub with the two men and was privy to far more details about their personal lives than Gwen or Fish. She'd overheard a number of arguments between them about Jack's overprotectiveness of his lover. But as the years had worn on, Miranda watched as Ianto Jones changed his tune. The protests in front of the team became less frequent and then stopped. The arguments after hours became less vocal and now they also were infrequent. Ianto had been a Torchwood field agent for four years and it was a job title with a painfully short life expectancy.

Miranda didn't want to glance down the table at Gwen, who was now past the five year mark, when most Torchwood field agent's were killed. Only one Torchwood agent had survived past it - Tabitha Rutherford who died in the line of duty having served Torchwood for seven years and four days. Even though Jack and Miranda had instituted the so called 'Warder's Orders', the mortal members of the team still had close calls. Fish's recent hospitalisation was case in point and Miranda often wondered who's luck would run out first. While Jack, Gwen and Ianto continued to theorise about Gareth Harding's strength and speed and its impact, Miranda spared a thought towards Ianto Jones's latent immortality.

When Jack and Ianto had shown up at her home three years ago, uninvited and unexpected, Miranda had felt the pressure behind her forehead and eyes. It was the faintest hint of the immortal potential within the young Welshman. Miranda had decided not to say anything and to allow Ianto's first death to occur naturally. But she had placed a time limit on her silence - Ianto's thirtieth birthday, which would occur next August. No one knows how fast a year can pass better than someone who's seen four thousand of them. Miranda knew that date would be here before she knew it and she would need to make a decision. _But that day is not now…_

While she had been distracted, the others had finished their discussion and were now looking at her expectantly.

"Sorry, woolgathering," she said. She tapped the tablet in front of her, bringing up a picture of the parasite.

As Miranda rubbed at her stinging eyes, she said, "After I'd finished the autopsy, I examined the parasite _in situ_ and then removed it as best I could. There were dozens of structures extending between the parasite and her brain. The scanner only picked up the larger structures. There is absolutely no way we could remove this parasite with today's technology and surgical methods. An infected person would never survive such a procedure."

"I've never heard of any parasite like this," Jack said, squinting at the picture a bit. "And there aren't a lot of sentient parasitic species out there."

"Torchwood has never encountered anything remotely like it," Ianto said. "Obviously, it's not the first parasite we've come across but it certainly is the first sentient one."

"How extensive is the brain damage, Will? You said she was in a vegetative state?"

"Not only was the parasite taking up considerable real estate inside the skull, it had burrowed into her brain. There are dozens of tendrils that had dug into her brain like roots from a tree. The brain damage wasn't made haphazardly. The parasite knew exactly which parts of her brain it could destroy and which parts it needed to keep," she said, twisting in her chair a bit.

"Christ, it knew exactly how to use her," Gwen whispered.

"Your original assessment was correct, Gwen. It was using Jessica Rees as a puppet. I don't think it was able to access her brain though. Anything it knew about humans and human society was learned," Miranda said. "The parasite itself is composed almost entirely of neurologic tissue. It is a true parasite for us. Unlike the hitchhikers, which are marginally beneficial, I don't think it's possible for us to co-exist with this species. They appear to be geared towards two goals - infestation and reproduction. There are structures here and here where I found this species equivalent of testicles and ovaries. They are hermaphroditic. This large sac here contained hundreds of fertilized eggs. It looks like they fertilize in a single mating, hold the fertilized eggs within and disperse them through this tube at a rate they feel their host can handle. The good news is that this parasite seems completely dependent upon us after infestation."

"How completely?" Jack asked.

"I mean, completely. If we had the technology and methods to remove the parasite, it wouldn't survive outside of the human body. It was even using Jessica's heart to keep its own circulatory system running," Miranda said, twisting in her chair a bit.

"I'm amazed it survived to drop through the rift and infest someone," Ianto asked, frowning. "I think you're both right. I think the bloody thing changes hosts when it changes life stages. There must be some sort of mechanism to keep the parasite alive while it searches for something new to infest. That's when it must have fallen through the rift."

"That's a pretty specific set of circumstances," Jack said. "It's probably why we haven't seen more of them."

"Maybe this is the only stage that can survive here?" Gwen asked.

"That would be the best case scenario," she said. After a brief pause, she continued. "I examined the developing parasites last. They appear to have died before the adult. There are signs that the adult parasite was reabsorbing them as it starved. And this is where I'm concerned with regards to our current situation."

"What do you mean, Will?" Jack asked.

"The adult parasite needs the fluid its been draining from its human victims. Since it couldn't feed, as a measure of last resort, it cannibalised its own young. Whatever the adult needs, the developing parasites need, probably in greater supply since they are growing. Up until now, we've been dealing with a non-gravid, single adult parasite."

"And now we're dealing with a parasite that needs to feed probably up to twelve developing parasites. Christ," Ianto said, shaking his head.

"We're going to start seeing more bodies, Jack," Gwen said, alarmed. "Either they'll come closer together or we'll start seeing two or three at a time, maybe more. Should I circulate Harding's picture to the police now?"

Jack shook his head. "Let's hold off on that until after tonight, Gwen. If we nab him, we won't have to risk retconning any of the police. All right everyone, we go back to Bute Park tonight. I want to start at midnight on the west side of the river. Gwen, Miranda, that car park is big and pretty empty, the SUV will stand out too much. Draw straws or whatever for who's car we'll use tonight. I want you all to go and get a few hours of sleep. See you at midnight."

"A word, Jack?" Miranda said, not looking up.

Gwen and Ianto both left the board room looking weary and eager to get out of the line of fire. The immortal woman's voice had the distinctive tone to it that they'd all learned over the past few years. She was about to tell Jack something he wouldn't like.

"Make it quick, Will," he said. "I want to get a few winks myself."

"We've never seen anything like this, Jack. I'm going to add it to my long list of research projects," she said with a sigh.

"You don't need my permission to take on a new research project, Will," Jack said, a little impatient.

"No, but I do need your permission to send Gareth Harding's body to UNIT after we catch him," she said and then held her hand up to stop him from protesting. "UNIT has far more man power than we do. They have an entire team of xenobiologists who will be able to research this far better than I can on my own."

Jack was silent for a bit, considering Miranda's very valid point. She was his medic and his second in command and already had more than a dozen research projects going. She didn't just have a lot on her plate, her plate was overflowing.

Almost as if reading his mind, she said, "Jack, I don't want to hand it off completely. I will do my own research but this species needs to be examined far more thoroughly than I can manage. The level of threat that this species represents is terrifying. Gareth Harding has existed among our society for a century, other factors notwithstanding, he has gone unnoticed. They're intelligent. They're adaptive. They're long lived and have the capacity to extend host life. Their potential for population growth alone is astounding. These two parasites could have potentially given birth to twenty four offspring. Twenty six turns into seven hundred which turns into half a million-"

"I get the picture, Will," Jack interrupted, raising a hand to his forehead and sighing. "I'd rather not hand over the entire body."

"Martha Jones will keep me in the loop," she said. "We don't need to hand the body over to them and let them have a field day with it. It will defeat the purpose of having UNIT step in to only give them a few pieces of the puzzle."

Jack didn't answer her. The potential for exploitation existed with any agency that dealt with aliens or futuristic technology and right now every single way the parasite could be exploited was running through Jack's head. Maybe it was egotistical, but Jack knew what was best and most of the time that meant learning what they could and then locking it away as if it never existed. Sadly, Jack didn't trust other agencies to be able to make that call. He would've been fine with supplying UNIT with samples but the entire body? Jack was a smart man and knew that it wasn't easy putting together a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box. He also knew that figuring out what that picture was supposed to be was even harder when huge chunks of the puzzle were missing. But she had a point, this threat outweighed the risks.

"There's going to have to be some guidelines and a lot of rules," Jack said.

"We can discuss the specifics later, Jack," she said. "We also need to arrange for all alien agencies, worldwide to know about this threat and to know what to look for."

"Agreed," Jack said without hesitation. "Whether or not they listen to us is a different story, Will."

"I know but at least we can say we tried," Miranda said as she got up from her chair. "I'll be in my rooms. Sleep well, Jack."

"You too, Will. I'll see you later," he said as he left the boardroom, waving over his shoulder.

Gwen's purse was still on her workstation but the former PC was no where in sight. Jack guessed she had retreated down to the staterooms for a quick kip. He crossed the main Hub and into his office. Once he was down in the bunker, he saw Ianto hadn't changed his clothes. He was sitting up in bed, barefoot, in his trousers and dress shirt. The shirt was mostly unbuttoned, the cuffs rolled up. Jack sank down onto his side of the bed with a grunt.

"Will wants to give Harding's body to UNIT," he said, irritated.

"She's right you know," Ianto said.

"You knew about this didn't you?" Jack asked as he dumped his boots onto the floor with a clunk.

"She asked me whether she thought she should bring it up in front of me and Gwen and I told her it was best you discussed it in private, that's all, Jack," Ianto explained.

"Are you going to go off on me about me taking point tonight?" Jack asked as he slid off his braces.

Ianto shook his head and shifted down the bed. He rotated his pillow and started to push on the sides, plumping it. "No. It makes the most sense. The washrooms are cramped. There's more potential for something to go wrong."

Jack laid down on top of the blankets and punched his pillow a few times by the corners. He kissed Ianto briefly and the rolled away from him. Ianto's arm slid around his waist and soon the two men were spooned against each other in their usual sleeping position. Jack lifted his head slightly, giving Ianto a sidelong glance over his shoulder. "You'll be careful tonight, right, Yan?"

Ianto dipped his head and kissed the back of Jack's neck, just above his collar. "Of course, I will, Cariad."

Jack wriggled against Ianto, settling into the embrace. He laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes and then opened them again. "Hey, Yan? That vacation we took last year was nice. I thought we could have one this year too."

"Sounds nice," Ianto said, a little sleepy. He brought his legs up into Jack tighter.

"Anywhere you'd like to go?" Jack asked. "You know, just for a few days?"

Ianto felt himself falling asleep and he missed the overly innocent tone to his lover's voice.

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled into the back of Jack's neck. "You said you wanted to go to Barcelona."

"The planet, not the city," Jack said. "There must be somewhere you've always wanted to go."

"Rome, but not just a few days," Ianto mumbled, tugging Jack into him tighter. "Cold."

Jack pushed lifted himself up despite Ianto's grunt of protest and dragged the small throw from the foot of the bed over them.

"Better?" he asked.

Ianto sleepily tugged Jack into him.

"Am, now," he whispered once Jack had settled back against him.

Jack smiled as Ianto's breathing evened and the young man drifted off to sleep. Jack, a trained soldier, could once fall asleep at will but now, sleep often eluded him and when he did sleep, he found he didn't need much. Miranda didn't sleep much either and Jack wondered if it was a byproduct of immortality. More and more, Jack was learning the implications of his immortality and, unlike Miranda who could die at the stroke of a sword, Jack's immortality seemed to have no loophole.

Laying there in the darkness, Jack listened to Ianto sleep. He allowed himself to feel a small amount of bittersweet gratitude that his lover would never have the burden of centuries of life's troubles to keep him awake at night. He pushed the thought back in his mind along with the pang of sadness that followed it. He would treasure every single moment he could spend with Ianto Jones no matter how small or simple and right now that meant being able to fall asleep in his Welshman's arms. Jack closed his eyes and cleared his mind and let the sound and feel of Ianto's breathing carry him to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

After the film, Henry and Fish had ordered a room service dinner and had eaten it in relative silence. They spent the rest of their evening much as they had their day, in front of the telly but as the sun had set and the time had whittled away, Fish could feel a growing sadness. He had tried as hard as he could to beat it back but it was there in the back of his mind. The two of them continued on, ignoring the passage of time as they talked and watched random programmes on the telly. Fish occasionally snapped a few covert pictures of Henry with his phone. Each time Henry heard the mobile's shutter clacking noise, he'd glare at Fish. After a bit, Fish began snapping random pictures just to annoy him. It was nearly midnight when Henry stretched and yawned and the glared at Fish angrily when he snapped a picture.

"Not a fan of photography are you?" Fish said, teasing.

"The art of photography has come a long way, but these days, anyone with a camera phone can claim to be a photographer," Henry said with an eye roll. "And why you'd want a picture of me yawning is beyond comprehension."

"Is that snobbery I hear, Henry?" Fish teased again. "From the man who was sketching me eating crisps earlier?"

Henry let out an annoyed snort as he got up to use the loo. Fish, snooping a little, reached out and pulled Henry's sketchbook towards him,. He opened it at the beginning. His eyes went wide as he saw that this sketchbook was something Henry must have had all of his life. The dates of the first sketches were from the sixteenth century. He could clearly see how Henry's skill had improved over the centuries. The early drawings were very good but showed little of the mastery Henry now displayed with pencil and paper.

Each drawing had a name and date beneath it. After struggling a bit with the old fashioned handwriting, Fish's eyes widened as he read the names of many historical figures. Henry sat down next to Fish as he continued to flip through the book. He looked over Fish's shoulder.

"Cats and curiosity," he teased.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Fish said shutting the book. "I didn't mean to snoop."

"It's fine, Joe," Henry said, pushing the book back into Fish's hands and opening it for him.

There were a few drawings of Henry's father and some of his half sisters. Fish had to smile a little at the small sketch of the baby who would become one of England's greatest queens, Elizabeth.

"I guess you didn't really know her," Fish said, gesturing at the sketch.

"No, this was the only time I saw Elizabeth," Henry said. He leaned over and flipped the page back to the sketches of his other half sister, Mary. "I knew Mary better. We shared the royal nursery."

"Even though you're…" Fish trailed off, he'd spoken without thinking.

"You can say it, Joe. A bastard," Henry laughed. "My father acknowledged me and raised me as if I were legitimate. He had me educated and elevated me to the peerage."

"Bloody Mary," Fish muttered, taking in the lovely teenage face. He had seen portraits of the queen in her youth and, again, the portraits looked little like her.

"Do not speak of my sister so in Mao-Lin's presence," Henry warned. "She has great affection for Mary."

"Evil step-sister, eh?" Fish teased a bit, hearing the touch of sarcasm in Henry's voice.

Henry shrugged, "I cannot really make an accurate assessment. We spent a great deal of time together as young children and we got on well enough though she never let me forget that I was our father's bastard. When I saw her again, our father was trying to make her the bastard. She was under a great deal of strain and often ill. I do agree with Mao-Lin that history has been unfair to her."

"How does Evie know her?" Fish asked as he continued to flip through the book.

"Mao-Lin was brought to England against her will on a ship called the Bristol," Henry explained. "She made her way west and my sister took pity upon her, giving her a job in her kitchens. She taught Mao-Lin to speak English and had her baptised into the Catholic faith."

As Fish listened, he'd continued to flip through the sketchbook, "How did you meet Evie?"

"When I first revived," Henry said. "I was laying in a wooden cart on a bed of straw. As Mao-Lin explained it to me, when I was on my death bed, she sensed my potential immortality while wandering past my sickroom. After I had died, she'd bribed the gravedigger to allow her to leave with my body."

"I didn't know she could sense that," Fish said, turning the page again. "I wonder what it is about certain people. Maybe it's inherited… some sort of rare recessive gene?"

Henry shook his head. "Perhaps Mao-Lin has not explained it to you thoroughly, Joe. Immortals are all foundling children. I'm not actually Henry VIII's son."

"What do you mean?" Fish said. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he stopped turning the pages and looked at Henry.

"My mother was Henry VIII's mistress and was sent to a convent where she gave birth to his son but the babe died shortly after birth. My mother did not birth well and one of the nuns was sent to fetch a priest. They feared she would die. On her way back, she and the priest found me laying in the grass near the convent. Word had already been sent to the king of the birth of a son and my family was panicked. My mother claimed me as her own."

"How on earth did you find all this out?" Fish asked.

"Mao-Lin relayed the story to me, though I have no idea how she came about the information," Henry said.

"So all of you are adopted children?"

"Mao-Lin said her mother found her at the base of a tree," Henry said and then shrugged. "It is the same with all of us. We seem to appear out of nowhere."

Fish shook his head wondering if Torchwood had ever made any investigations into it. He continued to flip through the sketchbook and then let out a startled gasp. It was a drawing of Miranda, sitting in a small chair. She was in front of a stone window wearing a plain Tudor style dress. Her feet were bare and her skirts hiked up to her thighs. One foot was up on the stone window sill, the other planted on the floor. A sword was leaning against the chair arm, the tip on the stone floor by her bare foot. Her fingertips were resting lightly on the cross guard. Fish saw a brooding look on her face that was tinged with nostalgia. It was a look he'd seen before.

"1540…" Fish said, reading the date under the drawing. "This is beautiful, Henry."

"Mao-Lin is a beautiful woman. I was quite fascinated by her face. People from the east were never seen in Europe back then," Henry said with a smile. He leaned over and slid his finger under some more of the pages, skipping a large chunk of the book. He turned a few more pages and stopped when he found the drawing he was looking for. It was a full length portrait, drawn with incredible detail. Miranda was wearing a beautifully embroidered evening gown, a bonnet and carrying a small drawstring purse.

"1824." Fish whispered.

"We travelled around Europe together for a bit at the end of the eighteen and beginning of the nineteenth centuries," Henry said. "Mao-Lin wanted to perfect the languages of Europe."

Fish flipped the page to see if there was more and was puzzled when Henry reached to stop him. When the page fell flat, Fish realised why. There was another drawing of Miranda, this time from behind. She was nude, laying on her side, a carefully arranged sheet beneath her. She was propped up on her elbow and looking at Henry over her raised shoulder, her face in profile. Fish's jaw dropped at the beautiful drawing. He flipped the page again and almost barked out a laugh. Miranda was laying on a small chaise, again nude. The pose was almost exactly that of the famous drawing from the film Titanic. Miranda was laying back, her arms behind her head. Around her neck was the square of bronze Fish had always seen her wear. Fish flipped the page again and saw another nude drawing of Miranda. Fish's eyes widened at the provocative pose. Miranda was flat on her back, her hand resting on her belly. Her legs were spread. One knee was in the air, bent slightly. Fish knew exactly where Henry had been when he'd drawn this picture, near her feet at eye level with her body, staring straight at her sex.

It wasn't the nudity that shocked him, but the agelessness that left him awestruck. When he had first discovered something amiss with his friend, he had shown up on Torchwood's front door… twice. He had been shocked that the woman he hadn't seen in over fifteen years hadn't aged a day. It was one thing to see the agelessness over a few decades, it was a whole other thing to see it displayed before him across centuries. The drawings Henry had done in the fifteen hundreds and eighteen hundreds could have been done with the woman he knew now.

"You two must have been quite the pair," Fish said. He flipped back to the nude drawing of Miranda from behind. Fish wondered if the two of them had been lovers at some point but decided not to pry. Fish said, "You've had this book a long time."

Henry nodded. "You know of my distaste for photography but before its existence this was the only means I had to capture the image of the people in my life."

Fish felt awkward. Henry had done little else but draw and sketch him today and always with this book. He closed it, feeling as if he'd seen into something that Henry kept very private. "I'm flattered I've earned a place there."

Henry pressed his lips into a thin line. "Joe…"

"Henry please, don't," Fish said. Henry had tried to bring up the subject several times and Fish was starting to lose his patience. "We talked about this. No promises. You're leaving tomorrow."

"Something of which I am painfully aware, Joe," Henry snapped, yanking the book from Fish's hands and dropping it back onto the coffee table with a loud slam.

"Henry, please, I don't want to waste our time fighting," Fish said, running his hand through his hair.

"I don't want to quarrel either, Joe. I want to talk about it," Henry insisted.

"To make promises that I don't need," Fish said, simply.

Henry stood up and ran his fingers through his hair and then started to pace angrily in the same posture as he had at the A&E. "Blast Mao-Lin and her-"

"Oi! Don't you go blaming this on Evie!" Fish snapped, leaping up himself. "This isn't because of what she said or what anyone else has said to me. This is because you're leaving tomorrow. I have a life here in Cardiff and you have a life in Canada. This is reality, Henry. There's no point in talking about it. For once in my fucking life, I just want to enjoy what I have in front of me instead of worrying about tomorrow. I don't want to waste what little time we have dwelling on how it's all going to end when you step on that fucking train!"

"It doesn't have to end there, Joe! I can paint anywhere! I don't need to stay in Vancouver. I can work from Cardiff," Henry said, turning to him and waving his arms at the window's view.

"For fuck's sake, Henry, what the hell did I just say? You don't need to make any promises to me," Fish said.

In truth, Fish couldn't handle it if Henry made grandiose promises that he wouldn't keep. Fish could feel it in his heart. Hope can wound as easily as any gun or knife. If Henry promised he would call or that they'd make a long distance relationship work, Fish would believe him and his heart would break all the more when it fell apart. No, it was better this way, getting it all done in one solid yank, like ripping off a plaster.

"I want more time with you. I can relocate my studio here," Henry said, more sincerely.

"Henry, please. Stop," Fish begged, dropping back onto the sofa. He planted his elbows on his knees and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. Fish found the hope within him growing that Henry meant what he was saying. He sounded so sincere and adamant. The hope swelled, threatening to burst his heart. Fish started imagining days like this with Henry - quiet meals and talking, popcorn and the telly, being able to wrap his arms around Henry as they fell asleep beside each other… and waking up to Henry's face every day. He saw so much happiness there. _It's just a dream…_ Fish told himself as he shook off the fantasy.

"Joe, please. Five days with you isn't enough. A lifetime with you wouldn't be enough. Joe, look at me," Henry said as he knelt down in front of Fish, taking his face in his hands. He shook Fish's face a bit until the other man's gaze was locked with his and with his voice cracking he said, "I love you."

Fish felt his heart leap at the words. The same words had been on his own lips since yesterday, begging to be said and now the reply caught in his throat. Love didn't happen this way, did it? Real love took time. What was happening here was the stuff of novels and films, it wasn't real life was it? _This isn't a fucking fairy tale, Fischer…_ Fish blinked back tears. He shook his head and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand.

"I swear on my head, Joe. These aren't empty words or hollow promises," Henry said, kissing the tears from Fish's eyes. "I haven't uttered those words in a long time."

Fish wanted to believe Henry and Miranda's warning was fresh in his mind but whatever Miranda had said didn't matter. Even without it, what Henry was proposing was madness.

"I can't ask you to do this, Henry!" Fish exclaimed, pulling away from Henry's touch.

"You're not, Joe. I'm telling you that it's something I can do and that I want to do… if you'd like to continue seeing me."

"Of course, I want to keep seeing you, Henry! I'm in love with you!" Fish said, surprising himself with his own vehemence and the confession. _Said in the heat of the moment…_ Their emotions were running high and they were both letting it get the best of them.

Henry put his hands behind Fish's neck and pressed their foreheads together. "We can make this work, Joe."

Fish shook his head and pulled away again. "I can't ask you to uproot your life for me, Henry. You only met me five days ago!"

"Joe, I don't intend to sound patronising, but you're thinking in mortal terms," Henry said, sitting on the sofa next to him and taking hold of his hand. "I'm immortal. I have time. We, however, do not."

Fish opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. He was stunned. He looked down at his hand in Henry's. He was doing it again, rubbing small circles on the other man's hand with his thumb without realising it. Fish looked at Henry, studying the young face and he felt his throat constrict when he thought of not seeing him again. Fish shook his head. He needed to be reasonable about this and not be swept away like some infatuated teenager.

"I need to think about all this, Henry," Fish said, dismissively.

"Take all the time you need," he said, sadly. He paused and then softly asked, "Will you stay tonight, Joe? Please?"

Fish nodded and stood up. The two men walked into the bedroom a little awkwardly, taking separate turns in the loo. Henry was wearing a loose fitting pair of pyjama bottoms and already under the blankets by the time Fish had stripped nude and slid into the bed next to him. The immortal man pressed himself against Fish's side, throwing his leg over Fish's and his arm across Fish's chest. Fish wrapped his arm around Henry's shoulder, tugging him in close as Henry pillowed his head on his chest. With Henry's arms wrapped around him, Fish felt himself fighting back tears. The two men clung to each other, as if the force of their embrace could stop the passage of time.

The scent of Henry's shampoo was wafting up at him. How could he give this up tomorrow? Again, the fairy tale picture of falling asleep beside Henry like this every night crept into Fish's mind and his heart hurt with the want of it. Sorrow was in the room and Fish felt the pressure of time and their surroundings. This was Henry's last night in Cardiff. They shouldn't be just laying here. But quiet presence was all Fish and Henry seemed to want from each other today not the throws of passion. Fish didn't want the sadness in their hearts to taint what should be a celebration of love and it would feel too much like goodbye. _It is goodbye… _

Henry was drawing lazy circles on Fish's side and Fish felt that hand movement slow and eventually stop as Henry's breathing evened and softened. Fish swore he felt the wetness of tears where Henry's cheek was pressed against his chest. He continued running his fingers through the other man's hair, listening to him breathe. The few days of memories weren't enough but it would have to do. Fish would treasure them for the rest of his life. Even if it was love, even if it was a fairy tale turned real life… it didn't matter. Torchwood would lead Fish to an early grave. He didn't know how Jack could stand knowing that, Torchwood notwithstanding, he would have to watch Ianto grow old and die. He didn't know how Ianto could stand to know that Jack would be left alone after he was gone, possibly for all of eternity. How could he do that to Henry? _This is the right thing…_ he told himself. When Torchwood did finally kill him, Fish knew exactly what he wanted his last thoughts to be - the memories he'd made here with Henry.

He bent his neck, kissing the top of Henry's head and burying his nose in the other man's hair, breathing deeply, trying to memorise the smell of the shampoo and the exact feel of Henry's hair on his fingertips. He ran his hand down Henry's skin, his fingers gently tracing up and down his shoulder, enjoying the feel of the smoothness and smiling a little at the freckles in the dim light. Fish remembered the last time he'd felt like this. It was the night he'd proposed to Olivia. The two of them had made love and Olivia had fallen asleep in his arms, just as Henry was now. But that contentment and love had taken Fish and Olivia years to form. He'd known Henry only a few days. Wasn't what he felt for Henry nothing more than an infatuation? Wasn't real love built over time. He had to be sensible. People don't fall in love with someone in a few days. The two of them were just getting swept up in the wild romance of it all. The argument in his mind continued as he tried to reason with his heart.

Henry shifted, tightening his arms and Fish heard Henry whisper his name in his sleep. The argument in his head died. There was nothing in the room other than the sound of Henry's breathing. With his heart pounding in his chest, Fish finally gave in and let the words whisper in his mind… _I love you, too… _

He clung to Henry tighter as the words broke a dam in his heart and his mind. He was being a fool. The universe had handed love to him on a silver platter and he was trying to talk himself out of it. He was throwing it away. How completely thick was he? People wrote poems and songs about what he had right here because sometimes it did happen. Fish had just never dreamed it would ever happen to him and certainly not like this. The epiphany sent calm through his mind as he came to a decision. His mind at peace, he felt his eyes droop. He snapped them open again but eventually he lost the battle with his own fatigue and followed Henry into sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

While Henry and Fish slept in each other's arms, the rest of the Torchwood team had returned to Bute Park. They had started their search at the toilets on the west side of the river where their tip told them Harding would be. Jack walked across the car park, seeing Gwen's car out of the corner of his eye. The two women had dropped Ianto and Jack off up the road within walking distance and now they were keeping an eye out. He kept his head down, looking at his feet as he walked. He knew this dance. He'd done it plenty of times before. Sometimes an impersonal shag was just what he needed at the end of a long day. But not these days. These days Jack Harkness went home to a cramped bunker and the love of Ianto Jones and he wouldn't have it any other way.

When Jack had first landed in this backward century, all this hiding had been a shock to him. He'd learned about the ancient prejudices in school, of course. He and his schoolmates had laughed at it. Like the way people today laughed that anyone ever though the world was flat or bled people to cure them of disease. He'd had no idea how bad it really was until he'd been dropped in the middle of it. It was a good thing he was immortal or he would've been dead long ago. It had taken him a while to discover this obscure dance of silence but he'd figured it out quickly enough once he had. Learning the ins and outs of it all had been a bit of a game to him and he found it all quite exhilarating. These days he could head out to any club or bar and pick up whomever he wanted male or female but he loved the old thrill. As he strode towards the building that held the toilets, Jack felt an old spring in his step and slight kick in his heart rate.

But this wasn't pleasure, this was business. He was on the clock. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ianto finding a spot against a tree. The two men had decided that because of Jack's greater familiarity with the scene and his immortality, he would be the one to actually go inside the building. Ianto would be providing backup outside. Jack circled the building, not seeing the man they were looking for. As he walked towards the entrance, he scanned the faces as covertly as possible. The entire point of this sort of thing was not to be recognised. Jack could find himself in trouble if he let his gaze linger too long.

When he entered the washroom, he wrinkled his nose a bit at the stale smell of sex and mildew. The room was mostly empty. There were two men standing next to each other at the urinals and only one of the stalls was closed. There was only a single pair of feet in the stall. Jack dismissed the two men at the urinals. From behind, it was easy to see that they had none of the characteristic long limbs or neck he was looking for. The only option left was the stall. Jack entered the stall beside it. In the divider, at hip height, there was a hole cut into it.

A small bit of toilet paper fell to the floor and Jack picked it up, dropping it into the loo as he left the stall. He knocked lightly at the stall door and waited. This might not work. Most of the subtle foot tapping or toilet paper signals were for meant for sightless encounters either under the stall divider or through the hole cut into it. He heard the latch being undone and then the door swung open. The man sitting on the loo was wearing a business suit, looking a bit nervous and scared. It wasn't Gareth Harding.

"Sorry," Jack said as he shut the stall door and turned around. He heard a muffled grunt from the urinal area and one of the two men walked away, tucking himself back into his trousers. Jack glanced at the other man still standing at the urinals who was doing anything but taking a piss.

He checked the other stalls but found no one. He heard the sound of shuffling feet and made a sidelong glance over his shoulder. The remaining man was leaving just as another man was entering the washroom. The newcomer was tall, lean and had something of a pot belly. It was Gareth Harding.

He didn't look at the man leaving or Jack as he entered the stall that Jack had just vacated. Jack saw the same small wad of toilet paper drop and Harding picked it up.

"Fifty," Harding said. His voice was all wrong. The word came out like a rasping hiss. Jack heard the slight clink of a belt buckle being undone and he knew he had a few minutes. He darted out of the washroom and tapped his comm unit.

"Guys? Harding's here. He's in one of the stalls completing a transaction," Jack whispered.

"Be careful, Jack. We're moving in," Miranda said.

"I want to make this is low key as possible," Jack said, again in a low whisper. "Everyone cover the building entrance, I'm going to be Harding's next customer. Let me know when you're in place."

Jack headed back into the washroom. The two stall doors were still closed. Jack could hear the sound of heavy breathing. He waited, loitering next to the urinals by the wall watching the space under the stall dividers. He wrinkled his nose and checked the bottoms of his feet. He must have stepped in something outside. He smelled petrol. Harding was on his knees, facing the stall divider. The suited man was also facing the same divider, standing up on the balls of his feet, the heels of his dress shoes slightly off the floor. Jack waited, listening to the sound of gasps and the man's belt buckle scraping the metal divider. In a different situation, he'd find it quite excitable but there was nothing arousing about this.

Finally, Jack heard a muffled grunt followed by the characteristic sound of hitched breath in the midst of orgasm echo through the tiled room. He watched as the dress shoe heels settled back to the tile and stepped away from the divider, back to the middle of the stall, turning to face the door. Suddenly, Harding crouched down low and seized the ankles of the suited man. Jack reached for his Webley just as the man's screamed. The man's scream was halted abruptly as his head impacted the loo, knocking him out cold. He crumpled to the tiles and Harding started to drag him into his own stall. Jack tapped his comm unit.

"Move in! He's attacking someone!" Jack shouted.

Jack kicked the door to Harding's stall with his foot and it flew open with a bang. Startled, Harding let go of the suited man and turned, letting out an unearthly howl-like shriek. He saw the gun and ducked unnaturally fast just as Jack fired. The tentacle flew out of Harding's mouth, wrapping around Jack's wrist and tightened. Jack screamed and dropped his gun as he felt the bones in his wrist break. The tentacle, wider and longer than the girl's, let go of Jack's wrist and then shot straight out, impaling itself through his throat. Harding retracted the tentacle and Jack crumpled in a heap, blood spurting from his neck out and across floor. He was dead in seconds.

The rest of the team had just reached the building doors. They all had their guns draw but Harding was unnaturally fast, even faster than the girl. He burst through the doors of the building, knocking Gwen to the ground. Even though she was stunned, the former PC managed to raise her weapon and fire. One of the bullets winged Harding in the arm but he continued to run.

"I'm fine, GO!" Gwen shouted as she dragged herself to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda saw her dash to the washroom for Jack.

Ianto and Miranda took off after the parasite infected man. Miranda was out in front with Ianto close behind. Miranda heard the zing of bullets whipping past her as Ianto fired. An excellent shot, Ianto managed to land a bullet center mass but Harding continued to run. The second shot Ianto fired winged him, in nearly the same exactly place that Gwen had. Miranda had no idea how, but Harding was running even though the bullet lodge in his chest must have punctured a lung. Ianto fired his gun again and nothing happened. The gun had jammed and Miranda could hear Ianto cursing in Welsh behind her.

After the last foot chase, Miranda had had the forethought to place a few of her throwing knives into her belt but Harding was much faster than the girl and he was now out of range for them. Miranda aimed for center mass and fired… and missed. She muttered an ancient curse and fired off a few more rounds. Now that Harding had made it to the tree line, most of Miranda's bullets impacted the nearby trees. The man continued to run, darting across the street. With another curse, Miranda swerved to follow, running out into the road between two parked cars without looking.

A passing car impacted her legs and she was sent tumbling up over the bonnet and the roof, down the boot and back onto the street again. The car's tyres squealed to a stop. The driver got out of his car, staring in horror at Miranda's crumpled and bleeding body just as Ianto had made it to the street.

"Oh my God! She just ran out! I didn't see her!" he screamed.

Ianto looked up and down the street. Harding was no where to be seen and now he had more immediate concerns. Ianto quickly hid his gun and jogged over to Miranda, kneeling down.

"I'm a doctor," he lied. "Don't touch her!"

The frantic driver backed away muttering to himself over and over again, in shock. Ianto rolled Miranda over, laying her out flat. He felt for a pulse and there was none. _Multiple blunt force trauma… _It was a death that took Jack some time to recover from depending on the extent of the injuries. Last year, Miranda had nearly been killed by another immortal named Adaf Terfel. She'd crawled to safety of holy ground but had been severely injured. She'd died in the SUV on the way back to the Hub. It had taken her nearly three hours to revive. Ianto used that incident as a gauge. He had plenty of time to deal with this poor bystander.

"I'm afraid she's dead," Ianto said. He took the man by the arm and led him back to his car as he covertly removed a small tablet from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Oh my God… oh my God… I killed her," the man said as his whole body started to shake. "I didn't see her… She came out of no where… I killed her…"

Ianto glanced around the inside of the man's car and luckily spotted a water bottle that still had some water in it. He reached past the man for it and with a small slight of hand he dropped the tablet into the water bottle. He put his thumb over the end and shook the bottle a bit to dissolve the tablet.

"Here, you're in shock. Drink this," Ianto said, handing the retcon laced water to the distraught man. To Ianto's relief, he drank it down without question and was unconscious in a matter of seconds.

Ianto laid him down on the pavement carefully and then drove his car into one of the parked ones. He lifted the unconscious man up and arranged him in the driver's seat, his head resting against the steering wheel. He dialed nine, nine, nine with the man's mobile and tossed it onto the floor of the car. After he'd stood up and shut the car door, he looked up and down the street again but there was still no sign of Harding or anyone else. He tapped his comm unit and then bent down to scoop Miranda up into his arms, wincing as he felt the broken bones shift.

"Gwen, Mandy and I lost him. What's your status?" Ianto asked.

"I'm in the men's toilet. Jack's dead. Looks like that tentacle thing got him in the neck. He's bled out. It's not pretty in here. He's too heavy for me. I'm going to need your help. Harding's customer is out cold, looks like he knocked his head on the loo. I need a short term retcon injection."

"I'll be right there Gwen," Ianto said, glancing at his wristwatch. He would have preferred his stopwatch but with Miranda in his arms, it was out of reach. "Mandy's dead. I'm going to put her into your car. Jack will take forty minutes to recover. It's been nearly ten."

"Right," Gwen said.

After Ianto got Miranda into Gwen's car, he stood up and started hunting in the boot. He opened the field kit and took out one of the pre-filled syringes then jogged for the building.

Gwen was right. It wasn't pretty. Jack's wound had sent several arterial spurts up the tiled wall and out across the floor. The room stank of sex, mildew and blood. Ianto stepped into the room, surveying the situation. Jack was laying flat on his back, perpendicular to the row of stalls. Gwen had closed his eyes. Harding's victim was laying on the floor as well, Gwen had dragged him out of the stall. He had a cut to his forehead and when Ianto peeked into one of the stalls, there was a blood stain on the rim of the loo's bowl.

"Mandy's in your backset. She was hit by a car and may be down for as much as an hour or two. We need to clean this up," Ianto said. "Check the door outside that says employees only. It may have a mop."

"Right," Gwen said. "Do you have your lock picks on you?"

Ianto reached into his suit jacket pocket and handed them to her. "I want those back."

"I only forgot that one time!" she said as she left.

Ianto knelt down and injected the retcon beneath the skin, next to the man's head wound. He dragged him back into the stall and laid him face down on the floor, his head near the loo. He looked at his watch. _Twenty six minutes…_ he said to himself.

Just as he turned to Jack, gently shifting the man out of the blood, Gwen appeared dragging a mop and bucket behind her. She'd also taken off her coat and used it as a sack for several rolls of toilet tissue and a few bin liners.

"I couldn't find any paper towels, this was it," she said, frustrated.

"We need to make cleaning supplies a standard part of the kit," Ianto said.

"You've been saying that for ages," Gwen said as she started to mop up Jack's blood.

Ianto knelt beside his lover, tugging him up by his arms and removing his bloodstained greatcoat. He folded it carefully and put it into one of the bin liners. He tied it closed and set it aside. With the toilet tissue, he wiped as much of the blood from Jack's hair that he could. _Fifteen minutes… _he said to himself.

Along with Gwen, the two of them cleaned the washroom floor and wall. He would have preferred to wait by Jack's side but it was unfair to leave Gwen to this task alone. Ianto became more and more frustrated by the toilet tissue fraying and crumbling in his fingers as he scrubbed at the tile wall. The task took far longer than it needed to. He tossed each crumbled handful into the bin liners. They would dispose of them back at the Hub. He glanced at his watch. _Five minutes…_

Gwen said nothing as Ianto stood up, tossed the wad of toilet tissue in his hand into the bin liner. He washed his hands in the sink and then dried them with the air dryers. He sat down and gently lifted Jack into his arms, wincing at the stiffness of the remaining dried blood in Jack's hair. He wrapped his arms around his lover and waited while Gwen continued mopping at the blood stained floor.

It was always like this when Jack died. Ianto held him in his arms, waiting for him to revive while the rest of the team continued to work. Ianto knew that the rest of the team was disturbed by the deaths of Jack or Miranda as much as he was but they distanced themselves from him while he waited to give him and Jack a measure of privacy. Ianto rocked Jack back and forth slowly in his arms, humming softly.

After the Year that Never was, Jack had returned scarred and more damaged than Ianto had ever seen him. It had been Jack's reviving that had been the biggest sign. Jack always gasped his first breath and flailed around a bit with some fear in his eyes but after his return, Ianto noticed that the man was coming back in a state of sheer panic and terror. The gasp of air was louder and more violent as was the flailing. Twice, Jack revived and immediately broke bones as his body thrashed about, panic and terror on every inch of his face. As their relationship progressed, Ianto found these displays more and more difficult to endure. One night, after a Weevil hunt gone wrong, Ianto could no longer stand back and wait. He gathered Jack into his arms. Just as before, Jack had thrashed about more violently than ever. Ianto had ended up with a split lip when Jack's head impacted his face but Ianto had held him through it, speaking to him in a calm low voice. Jack had been angry afterwards, scolding him for putting himself in unnecessary danger but Ianto had ignored his lover and continued to hold Jack as he waited for the immortal man to revive.

Slowly, over time, Jack's revivals became less and less violent until eventually, the immortal man merely gasped his first breath and then seized Ianto's arms as he gulped for more air. Ianto had attributed it to Jack readjusting after the Year that Never Was but then, one night Ianto had not been there when he'd revived. Ianto had rushed to Jack's side but had arrived as he'd taken his first breath. He'd been horrified to see Jack thrashing about just as before and had run to his lover's side immediately, earning another split lip. Noticing the difference, the rest of the team had tried to imitate him. In the rare situations where Ianto could not be at Jack's side when he revived, one of the team took his place. It helped but not nearly as much as Ianto's presence. He didn't like to admit it but it gave him a deep sense of connection to Jack, that he could be there for him in a way the others could not, even Miranda.

Suddenly with a jerk and a loud gasp, Jack came back to life.

"I've got you," Ianto said, tightening his arms around his lover. "I've got you. I'm here, Jack."

Jack said nothing, only gasped for breath as he gripped at Ianto's arms, hard. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut against the pain of reviving. Once he'd caught his breath, he nodded and squeezed Ianto's hand and the two men got to their feet. Mindful of Gwen's presence, they held back any of the usual reassuring touches or exchanges of love that passed between them when they went through this alone.

"The victim?" Jack asked as he took his handkerchief out of his pocket and ran it under the tap.

"Alive and retconned, sir," Ianto said. "We'll send in an anonymous nine, nine, nine call when we leave."

Jack nodded as he wiped the dried blood from his throat. "Will?"

"She's in the backseat of Gwen's car. We were pursuing Harding on foot across a street. She was struck by a car," Ianto said.

"Will was right. This attack? It's a full day early," Jack said, shaking his head. Ianto saw the frustration and anger slowly growing on his face. "We interrupted him. That other parasite died fast. He's going to need to hunt again."

"I think it's time to give Harding's picture to the police, Jack," Gwen said, dumping the mop water into the sink. "I know you don't want to but he'll be desperate now. We'll need all the eyes we can get on this."

"You're right, Gwen," Jack said. "I don't want to spook him too much. He could end up fleeing the city and then we'll really be in trouble. Tell them he's dangerous and to contact us immediately if they see him but not to haul him in."

"I'll phone Andy," Gwen said as she went to put the mop bucket back.

Angry, Jack balled the handkerchief up in his hands and then threw it at the tile wall with a wet thwack.

"He won't come back here," Jack said. "We're back at square one."


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning when Fish woke, he opened his eyes to a familiar sight. Henry was sitting in the room's armchair, his sketchbook in front of him. Once again, Fish watched, captivated by the intense concentration on Henry's face and the fluid motion of the man's hand. This time the clock was within his view and he saw that it was barely past six in the morning.

"Don't move," Henry said.

Fish stayed still even though he was uncomfortable and embarrassed. He was sprawled diagonally on his back over most of the bed. The sheets were thrown back and he was displayed in all his glory, his morning erection laying across the top of his thigh. Fish remained motionless as he watched Henry continue to draw. He had no idea how long he laid there but he flicked his eyes to the clock on the nightstand. It was nearly seven.

"What time does your train leave?" Fish asked.

"I was planning on taking the half ten," Henry said.

"Good," Fish said as he got up out of the bed and crossed over to Henry. He took the pencil from Henry's fingers and shut the book over it as he laid it gently on the small table. With Henry's hands in his, he walked backwards towards the bed. He turned them around and then playfully shoved Henry onto the bed and yanked the pyjama bottoms from his body. He laid down on top of the other man, relishing the feeling of Henry's completely nude body pressed against his own. He attacked Henry's neck, sucking hard enough to leave a large purple bruise. He let his mouth wander lower, licking his way down Henry's lightly haired chest, pausing to lave his nipples gently.

"Oh!" Henry gasped, twining his fingers in Fish's sleep tousled hair.

Fish paused as Henry slid himself onto the bed further. Fish moved with him, laying himself between Henry's splayed thighs. He continued to kiss down Henry's chest and belly, letting his hands wander down to stroke Henry's legs. Summoning courage, Fish bent at the waist, wrapping his lips around Henry's hard cock, sucking gently. Henry, surprised by the movement, let out an ecstatic shriek. He arched his back, forcing himself further into his lover's mouth. Fish gagged and sat up, coughing.

"Joe, I'm sorry!" Henry said. "I forgot you've never done that before."

"Well not that end of it," Fish said with another cough.

"You don't have to do this."

"I know. I want to," Fish said as he pushed firmly on Henry's shoulder, laying him back down.

Fish descended again and this time Henry remained motionless. There was no shriek but Henry's breath hitched in his throat. Fish had no idea what he was doing but felt that he couldn't go wrong with doing anything that he liked himself. Mindful of his teeth, he worked Henry's cock with his mouth, sucking and then massaging the underside with his tongue. At first, he was rewarded with a low moan but it was quickly followed by a cry of ecstasy. Fish flicked his gaze up and saw Henry's head thrown back, his fists clenched tightly in the sheets, almost white knuckle in their grip. Henry was using all his willpower not to thrust into Fish's mouth.

"Oh God… Joe, don't stop… more…." he gasped. One of his hands let go of the sheets and reached for Fish's. He dragged that hand to his balls and pressed Fish's fingers into his perineum.

Fish got the message and applied more pressure. He felt Henry's leg jerk convulsively as Henry let out another shout. Fish slid his own hips, rutting himself against the sheets. He was shocked to find how much he loved the feel of Henry's cock in his mouth and the scent of the other man in his nose. The sounds Henry was making went straight to his own cock. He felt painfully hard, a wet spot growing as his own erection leaked onto the sheets. With each descent of his mouth onto Henry's cock, Fish tried to take more and more of it into his mouth, eventually feeling it strike the back of his throat as he suppressed his gag reflex.

"Joe, stop… I'm… I'm… I'm going to…" Henry cried.

Trying not to over think, Fish increased his efforts. He felt Henry's hand twine in his hair and make a half hearted attempt to pull him away.

"Stop, Joe, wait, wait… I can't hold… I can't hold it… AH! JOE!" Henry screamed, throwing his head back and pulsing his release into Fish's mouth.

Fish swallowed automatically, drinking Henry down as much as he could, a few small drops trickling down from the corners of his mouth. He swirled his tongue around Henry's softening cock, sucking it clean. He relished the taste of the other man and the feeling of Henry shuddering.

Henry seized Fish by the arms and dragged the man up to him, kissing him deeply. When they broke apart, Henry gave Fish a half stern look. "I thought you were an honest man, Joe. You said you've never done this before."

Fish laughed. "Just because I've never given doesn't mean I haven't received. And I've been on the receiving end with some very talented ladies."

Henry pushed Fish onto his back and started to kiss his own way down Fish's torso.

"My turn…" Henry said, his voice deep.

Henry nuzzled Fish's erection with his cheek. Fish felt his eyes wanting to slide shut but he forced them to stay open so he wouldn't miss a moment. Henry grasped Fish's erection at the base while his tongue laved up the underside. Fish's hands flew out to his sides, grabbing the same fistfuls of sheets Henry had dented before as electricity shot through his spine. Unable to stop them, Fish's eyes slid closed as Henry sucked his balls into his mouth one by one and he let out another low moan. He felt Henry's tongue travel upwards again and then swirl around his glans. Fish let out a cry of pure ecstasy as he felt Henry's mouth envelope him.

Fish's entire body started to tremble as he found himself receiving the best blow job of his life. The talented combination of Henry's lips, tongue and teeth had him teetering on the edge far sooner than he would've thought possible. One of Henry's hands drifted from his hips, rolling his balls and then sliding backwards. Fish felt some panic as he thought about where Henry was headed but he stopped short, and Henry's fingers pressed firmly into his perineum. White hot pleasure shot up through Fish's spine and with a shout he was pulsing his release into Henry's mouth, his orgasm taking him by surprise. Henry drank him down, slowing his movements slightly to prolong Fish's climax.

"Holy shit…" Fish said, raising a trembling hand to his forehead. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was still trying to catch his breath. "That was… wow."

Henry kissed his way back up Fish's trembling body. He wrapped his arms around Fish and buried his face in his neck, breathing deep. "I could say the same to you."

Fish hugged Henry close, relaxing into the embrace for a moment, content. He'd come to a decision last night and this morning was just cementing it for him. There was no way he was letting Henry go. There was no denying it anymore. Fish was in love. Henry would get onto the train to London but it wouldn't be the permanent farewell he'd originally resigned himself to. Fish could find some way to make this work, they both could. He had to keep Henry in his life somehow.

"Henry… all this… I've had a great time…" he started to say but broke off when Henry let go of him. Fish's words caused a lump to form in Henry's throat.

Immediately, Henry stood up and turned away, covertly wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. Fish watched the sequence of movements - the sharply inhaled breath, the slow exhale and the roll of Henry's shoulders.

"I'm going to take a shower and get dressed," he said tersely, without turning around. Without another word, or even a glance in Fish's direction, he dug some clothes out of his case and disappeared into the en suite, shutting the door behind him. Fish got up and walked to the door. He heard the shower running. He gripped the knob. It was locked.

"Henry?" Fish called as he knocked softly.

No answer came.

"Henry? Please?" he called out, knocking on the door harder.

There was still no answer and Fish felt annoyed at the petulance. With a sigh, he pulled on his tracksuit bottoms and started gathering up his own belongings from the hotel suite, packing them into his overnight bag. Henry still hadn't emerged from the washroom by the time he was finished. Fish walked into the other room and started tidying, throwing away the popcorn bag from yesterday and a few empty water bottles. He replaced the bandage on his side and examined the stitches on his head. He took his medications and then tossed the bottles into his bag. Just as he was zippering it shut, the washroom door opened and Henry emerged, fully dressed.

"All yours," Henry said, jerking his head towards the washroom.

"Henry, please, wait a minute," Fish said.

Henry backed away as Fish reached out towards him, away from the touch.

"I have to pack," he said and then walked away into the other room.

_Fine be that way… _Angry, Fish grabbed his own clothes for the day and disappeared into the washroom. He showered and dressed as quickly as he could. He'd no idea why Henry was acting like this. The man was more than willing to speak to him yesterday. What had changed so much since then? He didn't think they'd left things badly when they'd talked yesterday. He'd only told Henry that he needed to think and now this four hundred year old man was behaving like a child having a tantrum.

When he opened the washroom door, Henry was stiffly moving about the hotel suite, gathering his possessions and packing with a grim stoicism. Fish glanced at the clock. He needed to get Henry to the train station soon. He tried to talk to Henry again but the other man brushed off the attempt.

Henry had spent the whole of his shower in heartbroken tears. This morning's intimacy had been tinged with despair for Henry. Fish had thrown himself into the encounter completely and Henry had misread his enthusiasm and his words as goodbye. Henry's mind had run away with itself. Fish had said he would think about Henry's offers to continue their relationship but Henry had seen the disbelief in Fish's eyes. His declaration of love last night had gone unanswered. Fish had said something of his feelings but it had been said impulsively, in the heat of the moment. Henry had come to the very wrong conclusion that this man he had come to love did not feel the same, perhaps seeing their short time together as a mere fling, an experiment with homosexuality and nothing more. Henry was devastated. He knew exactly what Miranda's reaction would be… that this was some sort of karma coming around for him.

He went through the room one last time, checking to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, when out of the corner of his eye he saw something glinting in the morning light. Henry bent down and saw the small button from Fish's shirt cuff that had popped off during their heated romp on the sofa. He picked it up between his fingers and stared at the small bit of plastic cupped in his hand as he stood up on shaky feet. He closed his fist around it tightly, clutching it to this chest as he fought back tears.

"Henry?" Fish asked.

He sniffled loudly and turned, slipping the button into his trouser pocket. He didn't trust himself to speak. He strode past Fish and into the bedroom, ignoring him. He walked over to his open case but as he went to flip it closed, Fish put his hand firmly down on the folded clothes, stopping him.

"Henry. Stop," Fish said firmly. "Four hundred years old and you're acting like a toddler having a tantrum."

Henry wanted to whirl around and deny the accusation but instead his shoulders slumped. Fish was right.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I… I understand you don't feel as I do… that our time together hasn't meant the same to you… I just-," he said, angry his voice was so unsteady.

"Is that what you think?" Fish gasped, interrupting Henry. "Henry… that's not true. At all!"

Fish ran his fingers down Henry's cheek. The immortal man still wouldn't turn to look at him. He wanted to tell Henry he loved him. He wanted to say the words even though they still sounded mental to him but he didn't want to say them like this.

"I do care about you, Henry, and I don't want you to go, but we both know you have to," Fish took hold of Henry's hand. "Look I've been working with Evie at Torchwood for three years now and all I've done is take the odd day off… I think I'm long overdue a holiday."

Now, Henry turned to Fish. The expression on his face was a mixture of shock and hope and joy. "What are you saying, Joe?" Henry asked.

"That I want this, Henry… you… us," Fish said. "Once this case is over, barring the end of the world, I think I'd fancy a trip to Vancouver… if you-"

Fish didn't get to finish his sentence. Henry had thrown his arms around Fish's neck and was hugging him so tightly, Fish could barely breathe.

"Oi! Some of us aren't immortal!" he gasped and Henry loosened his grip.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he said, cupping Fish's face in his hands. He kissed Fish tenderly, brushing his thumbs against his cheeks.

"I need to take one step at a time here, Henry. I'm normally a level headed, sensible bloke and this is all a bit mental to me. Actually, it's completely mental to me," Fish said softly, running his fingertips down Henry's cheek. "I come and visit you in Vancouver and then we take it from there, okay?"

Henry nodded, willing to take whatever Fish would give him. He wanted to tell Fish he loved him again but stayed silent. If Fish wanted to take a step back, Henry would do it with him. He would do whatever he needed to keep this man in his life.

Their goodbye had now turned into something temporary and both men were far happier than before. There was no longer a crushing sorrow hanging between them. Neither was overjoyed but this goodbye was something more tolerable now. They took a taxi to Cardiff Central Station together, sitting in the back seat holding hands. Fish paid the driver and helped Henry with his case, his own overnight bag over his shoulder. They purchased Henry's ticket but still had some time before the train left.

"You'll call me when you reach London? To let me know you got there safe?" Fish asked as they stood on the platform together.

"Of course," Henry said, taking hold of Fish's hand. "There's a bake shop up the way. I think I fancy a pasty."

"The coffee at that shop is disgusting," Fish said, pulling a face as he walked hand in hand with Henry along the street.

Henry wrinkled his nose. "I never drink it. I prefer tea."

"That's so English of you," Fish said with a laugh. "I need to get you some of Ianto's coffee, it'll change your mind."

The bake shop was crowded and Fish stayed outside with Henry's case, shaking his head when Henry offered to get him something. Fish was surprised when Henry was by his side, warm pasty in one hand and a styrofoam cup of tea in the other. The man had scarcely been in the shop ten minutes.

"That was quick," Fish said. After Henry had bitten into the pasty, Fish leaned over, curious as to which filling he'd chosen.

"The queue moved fast," Henry said, offering the end of the pasty to Fish.

"Actually, I think I'll get my own. I am kind of hungry," Fish said as he pushed off the wall and started towards the bake shop door.

"I did offer to get you one, Joe," Henry teased.

Henry smiled as he watched his lover enter the shop. A strange sound brought his head around. It sounded like some sort of animal, almost like the sound of a hissing cat, coming from the alleyway behind him. A small child was intrigued by the noise and moved away from her mother to investigate. Seeing the child was about to dart down the alleyway, Henry was overcome by a feeling of foreboding. He dropped his pasty and tea cup to the ground. He stepped forward, picking up the young girl to stop her. He took firm hold of her hand when he put her back down.

"Careful, child!" he scolded.

"Kitty!" the young girl said with a smile as she pointed down the alley.

"Jenny, you need to stay by me!" the girl's mother scolded, taking her daughter's hand from his. "Thank you so much! I only looked away for a second!"

"She is quite precocious," he said with a smile. "I think she saw a stray cat."

"She loves cats, keeps asking me to get her one but I'm allergic," the mother said, shaking her head. "Thank you, again!"

"You're most welcome," Henry said. He waved at the girl and her mother as they walked off, the mother continuing to scold her wayward daughter. He smiled and shook his head with amusement. He bent down and tossed his ruined pastry and now empty tea cup into the rubbish bin next to him. He was about to head into the bake shop to ask Fish to replace his breakfast when he heard a sound behind him.

"Help…" it was a bare whisper accompanied by the strange hissing sound he'd heard before.

Wary, Henry looked down the alley and saw a man's legs jutting from behind a large dumpster down the alley. He stepped into the alley cautiously.

"Please… someone…" the whisper came again, slightly louder.

"Hello?" Henry asked, peering around the dumpster with suspicion. What he saw shocked him. A man was laying on the ground, blood stained his abdomen. He was gripping at his belly and the back of his head.

"Oh God," Henry gasped. He fell to his knees, ripping the scarf from his neck. He pressed it into the man's wound and then fumbled for his mobile phone. "It's going to be all right. I'm going to phone an ambulance. We'll get you to hospital."

"Henry?" Fish called out from down the alley, looking left and right for his lover.

"Down here, Joe! Quickly!" Henry called out.

"Help…" the man gasped. He seemed unaware of Henry's presence.

Fish darted down the alleyway, his own breakfast dropping to the pavement. He was at Henry's side immediately.

"Oh God! I've got it, Henry. I can get them here faster," Fish said. He dropped his overnight bag and dug out his mobile from his jacket pocket and dialed nine, nine, nine.

"Cardiff police emergency. Can I help you?" a polite voice answered.

"Yes, Fischer, Joseph. Torchwood authorisation india, two, one, seven, victor, echo, six, two, two three. I'm in the alley between the car park and the shops by Cardiff Central Station. I found a man here, he's been attacked and is injured badly. I need police and an ambulance at once."

Fish didn't wait for the operator to answer him, he disconnected the call and dialed Jack. The use of his Torchwood authorisation number would be routed to the Hub and he wanted to let Jack know that it was a simple assault, not something Torchwood related. While he waited for Jack to answer, he looked up and down the alley and that was when he saw another man laying sprawled at very end of the alley in a pile of trash.

"Henry," Fish said as he pointed.

"Take over for me here, Joe," Henry said and Fish dropped to his knees to apply pressure to the bleeding man's wounds. Henry jogged off down the alley.

"Be careful, Henry," Fish shouted after him just as he heard Jack answer his call. Fish was about to reply when the bleeding man in front of him began to have some sort of fit. Fish's phone, which had been tucked in between his ear and shoulder, clattered to the ground as Fish tried to hold the man down. Fish could hear Jack's voice shouting his name up at him.

"Help is on the way! Hang on!" Fish said to the injured man he wasn't sure could hear him.

The man continued to convulse and then suddenly went still. Fish reached for his neck. There was no pulse. It was then that Fish noticed blood at the man's hairline. Fish turned the man's head and that was when he saw the slicing wound at the hair line and at the base of his skull… a small circular hole. _Oh no…_

Without looking up he shouted, "Henry! Get back here! Now! Jack, if you can hear me, trace my mobile signal! I need help!"

His hands slick with blood, Fish reached under his coat for the Torchwood issue sidearm that was usually in his shoulder holster. _FUCK ALL!_ He wasn't on duty. His gun was in his bag. He could hear Jack shouting up from his mobile phone but Fish didn't have time to pick it up from the ground.

"Jack! If you can hear me! I need back up, now! Harding is in the alley between the shops and the car park by Cardiff Central! BUGGER!" he hissed. His hands dove for the bag's zipper, fumbling from the stickiness of the drying blood. He started yanking out his clothing, looking for the jumper he had wrapped his gun in. Just as his hands closed around the grey wool, he heard a shout from down the alleyway. When he looked up, he felt the blood drain from his face.

Henry was crouched low facing in Fish's direction. His sword was drawn. There was a man standing between them, his back to Fish. His arms, legs and neck were unnaturally long. _Gareth Harding…_

"HENRY! NO! RUN!" Fish screamed as he shook the gun free from the jumper. It fell to the pavement with a clatter. He glanced down the alleyway again. He saw Henry with his sword in front of him and the man who had been Gareth Harding closing in on him.

"STAY BACK!" Henry cried, swinging his sword defensively. "JOE! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"NO, HENRY! RUN!" Fish shouted as his fingers finally closed around the gun's grip. He flicked off the safety and yanked back on the slide and stood up just as he heard Henry scream, his sword falling to the ground with a clang of metal.

Henry was pressed flush up against the brick wall at the end of the alley. The tentacle from Harding's mouth was buried in the back of his head. Fish raised the gun and fired as he ran down the alleyway. He continued to squeeze the trigger, screaming as tears of rage and despair ran down his cheeks. Normally, Fish was the best shot on the team but the rage and grief overwhelming him affected his aim. Only a few of the bullets found their target and Harding retracted the tentacle from Henry's head. Henry's body crumpled to the ground in a heap and Harding rounded on Fish who was dimly aware of the sirens growing louder in the background.

The tentacle was still extended, it whipped and flailed around as Harding ran towards Fish. Fish ducked, sliding on the pavement and into Harding's legs. Harding slammed into the ground but immediately got to his feet and started to run from the alleyway. Fish was of one mind. He ignored Harding and ran for Henry's fallen body, dropping his gun. He fisted Henry's coat in his hands, dragging his lover into his arms, sobbing.

"No! NO!" he cried, shaking his lover and calling his name. "Henry! Please…"

Fish cradled Henry's face in his hands, his eyes stared up dead into nothing. Sobbing, Fish wrapped his arms around Henry's limp form, dimly aware of the sound of sirens in the background and he completely ignored Harding who was running out of the alleyway.

"Henry… no… please…" Fish pressed his face into Henry's cheek which was already growing cold.

A wail of pure grief welled up out of him as he rocked Henry's limp form back and forth in his arms. _I love you… I'm sorry I never told you properly… I love you… please… no… please, come back… don't leave me… not yet…_ The agonising monologue continued in Fish's head over and over as he sobbed with Henry in his shifted Henry more, pulling the other man into his lap and he heard the sound of metal scraping across pavement as his foot impacted something hard. Fish's head snapped up. Henry's broadsword was laying near his feet. He'd accidentally kicked the blade and the sight of it brought him back to reality.

Henry was immortal. He would revive. He'd been so overcome that he'd forgotten and now he'd cocked everything up. Fish looked around and saw the alleyway was empty. The Torchwood SUV was parked at the end of the alley. All the doors were open and not a single member of the team was in sight. They were likely pursuing Harding. The parasite infected man had been a stone's throw from Fish and he'd escaped.

_Get your head in the fucking game, Fischer…_ He lowered his lover carefully to the ground. With a sob, he ran his fingers over Henry's eyes, closing them. After pressing a quick kiss to Henry's lips, he bent down and picked up the broadsword. He opened up Henry's coat and located the concealed flap, hiding the sword within it securely.

"I'm sorry. I want to stay with you but I can't," Fish said softly. He pressed another kiss to Henry's lips and then draped his own coat over Henry. He scrubbed at his face again, and shook his head, from side to side trying to shake off the grief and anguish. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, hard enough that he saw small flashes of light. He told himself firmly that Henry would be fine but it was hard to believe it, seeing Henry's unmoving body laying dead before him. _Head in the game, Fischer, head in the game. NOW…_

A pair of police constables were walking down the alley towards Fish. After picking up his gun, he dug into his wallet for his Torchwood credentials, scrubbing at his face one more time. He cleared his throat to strengthen his voice.

"Sorry gentlemen, this is Torchwood's jurisdiction," he said, flashing the ID at the police. "Please, establish a perimeter only."

Fish was relieved when he saw the two police following his instructions, placing the caution tape at the alley entrance and preventing any of the curious from venturing down it. Fish wanted nothing more than to cradle Henry's body in his arms while he waited for him to revive but he couldn't. He ducked under the tape and looked up and down the street. Fish felt boiling rage and corrosive guilt well up in him when he finally saw the rest of the team walking towards him. They were all trying to catch their breath.

Harding was gone.


	25. Chapter 25

Fish felt a hand squeeze his shoulder as he sank into a wooden chair next to the bed. He was down in one of the staterooms. Henry was on the bed in front of him, unmoving and pale. Ianto was standing behind him, the source of the comforting hand. He vaguely remembered the drive back to the Hub, Gwen ushering him into Jack's office while Ianto, Jack and Miranda had unloaded the SUV. Had it been Gwen who'd led him down here? He didn't remember nor did he remember the others leaving one by one, each laying the same comforting hand on his shoulder. Fish was glad that Ianto had lingered.

Fish's voice dropped as he said to Ianto, "You were right, you know."

"About what?" Ianto asked, softly.

"About it just being different. It's not about men. It's about him," Fish said, nodding towards Henry's unmoving body. Tears welled up in his eyes at the sight. "When I saw him in the bar, it wasn't about keeping an open mind. I just wanted to spend time with him. I feel like I'm going completely mad."

"Or falling in love which is the same thing," Ianto said with a smile.

Fish wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Christ, Ianto, I've known him less than a fucking week. How can I feel this way?"

"There are lots of different kinds of love out there, Fish. Sometimes love builds slowly and sometimes it hits you over the head like a cricket mallet," Ianto said with a shrug.

"Jack…" Fish muttered under his breath and Ianto shook his head.

"Lisa," Ianto said in a grief tinged whisper. "I went round a corner at One and there she was at the end of the hallway. I always thought love at first sight was a bunch of bollocks until I saw her."

A few years ago, a piece of cyber technology had fallen through the rift. Jack had gone completely mental when he saw Fish tinkering with it. The Torchwood captain had tossed it into the Hub incinerator himself. Gwen had explained to Fish about the cyberwoman hidden in the Hub's east basement and that it had been Ianto's partially converted girlfriend. Fish had been appalled at the tragedy.

Ianto squeezed his shoulder again. "You all right? You want me to wait with you?"

Situations often forced Ianto to hold onto Jack and wait with the rest of the team nearby. Fish had always felt he was intruding on something private and intimate between the two lovers. He'd always done his best to give them as much privacy as possible when they endured this within sight of the rest of the team but this was new to him. He appreciated Ianto's offer and he seriously considered it for a moment because it would be good not to have to wait alone but after Henry did wake up, that was when Fish would want privacy. He and Henry needed to talk.

Fish shook his head. "I appreciate it, mate. But I think I'll be fine."

"I know you've seen Jack and Mandy do this but be careful. The two of them die all the time. If Henry's not used to it, he may be more panicked when he wakes up. He'll flail about and he won't know where he is. Jack's split my lip a few times," Ianto said. "We'll all be upstairs if you need us."

"Thanks, Ianto," Fish said softly.

Ianto squeezed Fish's shoulder again and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Fish turned back to Henry's unmoving form and waited. He'd seen both of the immortals on the team do this more times than he could remember but this was like torture. Henry's hand was cold in his and Fish could barely stand to look at his face. There was just something wrong about it. At that moment, he finally understood Ianto's stopwatch and wished he had some way of keeping time but the clock in this room was broken. Looking at his watch did nothing. Even though Fish remembered that it had just gone ten when Henry had died, he had no idea how long it would be before Henry revived. Jack and Miranda both healed and revived at different rates. Fish had no idea what influenced it and it wouldn't matter anyway. Jack and Miranda were two different types of immortal beings.

_How the fuck does Ianto do this?!_ he wondered. Fish had often watched on while Ianto had wrapped his arms around his lover, waiting for the immortal man to revive. Every second that ticked away was like a knife in Fish's heart and with each second, fear grew in him. What if Henry didn't wake? What if this alien had killed him? A memory of Miranda wrapping her fingers around a set of rosary beads before being shot by an alien weapon flooded his mind and fear clenched his belly. Miranda had been afraid. What doubt had flooded her mind then that had caused her to call upon God? He prayed and Joseph Fischer hadn't prayed in a long time. _Please…_ Just as the word was finished in his mind, Henry sat up and gasped, his arms and legs flailing, pain and terror over every inch of his face.

"Easy! Henry! You're safe, it's Joe!" Fish yelled, trying to grab at Henry's flailing arms.

Henry let out a cry of pain and then went into a coughing fit. He continued to flail his arms and legs, trying to roll out of the bed and flee.

"HENRY!" Fish shouted right in Henry's face, copying what he'd seen Ianto do to Jack on numerous occasions.

"Joe?" Henry asked, blinking a few times. He laid back on the bed, his eyes darting around the room.

"It's me, Henry," Fish said, blinking back tears, relief flooded him.

"The alley! That… thing," Henry cried, trying to get up. "Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine. Lie back," Fish said, pushing his hands into Henry's chest, trying to get him to lay back down.

"It's better if I sit up. I just need a moment," Henry said. He sat up on the edge of the bed. "I have quite the headache."

Fish wanted nothing more than to force Henry back into bed and make him rest but Henry probably knew what was best for him. There was still some pain on the immortal man's face. His eyes were closed and he was pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He looked waxen and there were circles under his eyes. Fish wanted to do _something_ but he let Henry be. He was quickly learning the subtleties of the immortal man. Henry would let him know when he was ready and he did not like to be rushed through whatever process he was going through.

Henry took a few deep breaths, still pinching the bridge of his nose. Fish saw the sharply inhaled breath, the slow exhale and the roll of the shoulders. Henry blinked a few times and then lowered his hand.

"Better?" Fish asked.

Henry nodded and said, "A bit."

For the first time, Fish noticed the glass of water sitting on the bedside table. One of the others must have left it. He handed the glass to Henry and the immortal man drank it down. When he was finished, he put the empty glass down and then ran his fingertips down Fish's cheek.

"Thank God, you're all right," Henry said, relieved. He looked around the spartan room. He'd thought maybe it was a hotel but there were no windows. "What is this place?"

"Torchwood," Fish said. He decided to drop all pretense. Neither Jack nor Miranda had given him permission to reveal Torchwood's secrets to Henry but Fish didn't care. "The Torchwood Institute was founded by Queen Victoria to protect the British Empire from alien threats."

"I beg your pardon?" Henry gasped. "Did you say… _alien_ threats?"

"That thing in the alley was an alien, a being from another world," Fish said. It was technically inaccurate but Fish saw that Henry was taking in all he could handle.

"I have lived far too long," Henry said as he blanched further. He felt like he'd fallen into some sort of film or television programme. "I am a stranger in a strange land… How did it get here? Some sort of spaceship?"

Fish shook his head. "Cardiff sits on a rift in time and space. Things fall through. Monitoring and policing the rift is part of what Evie and I do here at Torchwood. We protect and arm the human race for the future."

Henry shook his head, trying to wrap the concept of an alien being around his sixteenth century brain. He opened his mouth as if to speak but shut it again, shaking his head. He had lived to see the wonders of the modern era, aeroplanes and nuclear bombs and computers. But aliens from another world? How could he or humanity defend themselves against such things?

"My sword!" he realised.

"It's right here," Fish said, laying a comforting hand on his lover's shoulder. He bent down and unrolled Henry's stained coat, revealing the broadsword concealed within its folds.

Henry sighed with relief as he lifted the sword, resting the flat of the blade against his forehead. The immortal man sat there for a while with his eyes closed, the cool metal against his skin. He took a few deep breaths, trying to process all he'd just learned.

Fish ran his fingers down Henry's cheek. "Henry… can we talk?"

Henry's face fell and he lowered the blade. He gave Fish a look that held sadness, grief and so much pain. And then it vanished as he laid the sword down next to him, replaced with an impassive mask. He swallowed, bracing himself. Last year, Miranda's girlfriend, Nora, had left her after being shown the harsh reality of Miranda's immortality. Fish could see Henry's mind jumping to the wrong conclusion and he needed to correct it immediately.

"Yesterday, you said… yesterday you said you wanted to relocate your studio here, that you'd be willing to move to Cardiff," Fish said softly. "Do you still want that, Henry?"

"Joe, if you want to take this one small step at a time, we can do that. Whatever… however you want," Henry said. He was so relieved Fish wasn't running for the hills that he didn't want to press his luck. He took Fish's hand in his. "All I want is you."

_Leap of faith, Fischer…_ "All my adult life I've tried to do what's sensible and practical. I've listened to the voice in my head telling me to slow down and to step back and be reasonable and I'm done listening to it. I want you here, Henry. With me." Fish said. He cupped Henry's face and stared straight into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," Henry said, choking a little on the words.

The two of them leaned at the same time, kissing each other deeply. Fish felt his heart threatening to burst with the love he felt in that kiss. There was no sadness. There was no relief. There was no joyous reunion. There was nothing but pure love, titrated from both their hearts and mixed together with lips and tongues. They broke apart, their foreheads resting against each other. Henry's hands were caressing his cheeks.

"I never understood the Game. I never understood why I was immortal or what its purpose was," Henry said softly. "Perhaps there is destiny in the world."

"'Love is our true destiny…'" Fish began.

"'We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone…'" Henry continued.

"'We find it with another…'" Fish finished.

"Thomas Merton," Henry choked.

Henry slid his hands back, clutching Fish to him. The embrace now filled with relief and joy.


	26. Chapter 26

With Henry behind him, Fish walked up to the main Hub. When he got to the top of the north stairs, he looked around. The entire team was bent over various workstations, most likely scouring the CCTV for Harding. He looked around the Hub, guiltily.

Torchwood was a team. Jack made sure of it. Yes, Jack was in charge but most of the time he worked with his team, not above them despite his penchant for rooftops. Miranda was the same. She was Torchwood's second in command but, like Jack, it was a card she rarely played. When lines needed to be drawn and the law laid down, the two immortals didn't hesitate to slip into the roles of leadership. Fish glanced about nervously, wondering which of them he would be facing. Jack lifted his head, his eyes piercing him.

"Fish, my office. Now," Jack snapped.

"Joe-" Henry said, grabbing his arm.

"Don't, Henry. Wait here for me," Fish said, shaking off his lover's hand. Up until this point, his superiors had been making allowances for his emotional distress. Henry had died in front of his eyes. He'd been so distraught, he'd allowed Gareth Harding to slip through his fingers. And now he needed to take responsibility for his mistake regardless of the circumstances.

_Time to face the music… _Fish squared his shoulders and walked across the main Hub towards Jack's office as Miranda walked over to Henry. His face grim, Henry watched as Fish disappeared into the room with Jack, wondering what sort of trouble his lover could possibly be in. Had something occurred while he was waiting to revive? The office door slammed with a loud bang that made Henry jump a bit.

Miranda said softly, "Has Fish explained things to you?"

"Yes," he said, looking around the Hub. "No wonder you didn't tell me anything of this place. I never would have believed you. Clandestine work indeed."

"Welcome to Torchwood, your grace," Miranda said with a small smile. She felt a touch of irony that this man, who had been raised the son of one of England's most famous kings was now standing in the middle of the Torchwood Hub. The Crown had created Torchwood but never visited its underground halls. Gwen and Ianto had gotten up from their workstations to greet their guest.

"Gwen, Ianto, may I present, his grace, Henry Fitzroy, the fifth Earl of Nottingham and the first Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Your grace, may I present Gwen Cooper, she used to be a constable with the South Wales Police and is now our local liaison. And this is Ianto Jones, our jack of all trades."

"Lovely to meet you, Henry. Sorry, got to get back to it," Gwen said. She flashed Henry her gap toothed smile and shook his hand briefly. With a friendly wave, she went back to her workstation.

Henry's relief at Gwen's familiarity was short lived. Ianto gave the Duke a low bow, in full butler mode.

"May I get you some refreshment, my Lord Richmond? Some tea? Or perhaps something to eat?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Please, none of that nonsense. It's Henry. Some tea would be welcome."

"You should eat something, your grace. And you may have to deal with Ifan's formality. He's our ever capable butler," she said with a smile. "Ifan, if there is nothing suitable in the Hub's fridge for the Duke, check my rooms downstairs."

Ianto nodded and then walked away. Henry was about to call out to Ianto, to let him know he took his tea with honey but he felt something by his leg and leapt backwards.

He cried, "What the devil…"

Dewi, one of the Hub's resident pets, was sniffing at his leg. The niffler was a short, squat creature about the size of a large raccoon. Miranda bent down to pick him up. He had taken quite a liking to her since she'd caught him last year.

"This is Dewi," Miranda said. "He fell through the rift last year."

"He is truly from another world?" Henry asked with awe. He reached his hand out but pulled it back.

"It's all right, your grace. He's quite tame," Miranda said as Henry stroked the soft fur. Miranda reached into her pocket and took out a small feather, handing it to Henry. "He was merely curious. We don't often have visitors."

Henry held the feather up, looking at it as if his teacher had gone mad.

"What is this-" Henry took the feather from her with a look of confusion but broke off when Dewi's long thin tongue snatched the feather from Henry's hand. "Good Lord! He eats feathers?"

Henry continued to stroke the soft fur with a smile on his face. "He's adorable…"

A screech in the air caused Henry to duck and let out a startled shout. Dewi leapt out of Miranda's arms and scurried off into the autopsy bay. Henry's face blanched as he looked up. He whispered, "Is that… is that a dinosaur?"

"Our other resident pet, Myfanwy. She's a pterodactyl. Well, technically a pteranodon. She fell through the rift in 2006. Ifan is the only one who can get anywhere near her."

"This is incredible, Mao-Lin," Henry said looking around the Hub.

Miranda gestured for Henry to follow her and led him into the board room.

"Torchwood is beyond the government, outside the police," Miranda said, parroting the company line. "We must protect humanity. Not everything that falls through the rift is benign."

"As I have learned," Henry said softly.

She sat down at her usual spot at the foot of the table, laying her sword down in front of her. She gestured for Henry to sit. Unknowingly, he sat down in Fish's usual chair. He also laid his broadsword out in front of him.

"The man you saw in the alleyway was once known as Gareth Harding," Miranda said.

"The film star?" Henry gasped. "He disappeared a hundred years ago, Mao-Lin!"

"Gareth Harding didn't disappear. He was infested with an alien brain parasite," Miranda said. "It took over his body and destroyed the man he once was. The parasite has been killing people on and off for the past hundred years, to feed."

"God in heaven…" Henry said. He shook his head in disbelief. "Joe said that people were dying."

The sound of muffled shouting rose up from the direction of Jack's office. Henry craned his neck and Miranda winced a bit. She let out a soft sigh.

"Jack is not pleased," Miranda said.

Henry finally realised what must have transpired in the alley while he lay dead. He saw red. "Joe was only concerned for my welfare!"

"I know that, your grace. If our team members were ignorant of immortality, his actions would be understandable but that is not the case. He's known about our kind for years and he is aware that you are an immortal of the Game. Fish is also well aware of the standing orders within Torchwood," Miranda said. "When an immortal member of our team is killed or injured, the others are to leave us and do their jobs."

"Joe saw to my welfare and allowed your perpetrator to escape," Henry said with a sigh. "He has never seen me die before, Mao-Lin."

"I understand that but he has seen Jack and I do so many times," Miranda said, seriously.

"There is another of us here? I thought I felt something when I came up the stairs," Henry said, unconsciously laying his hand next to the broadsword's hilt.

Miranda glanced over her shoulder, making sure that Ianto was no where in sight. "What you felt was Ianto Jones. He is a pre-born. He doesn't know yet. The immortal to whom I was referring is Captain Harkness but he is not one of us. Something happened to him to make him what he is. Unlike our kind, his immortality seems to have no loophole and we cannot sense his presence. He ages extremely slowly and he can father children."

"A terrible fate…" Henry said with pity and then furrowed his brow. "You married a soldier in 1920. Wasn't his name Harkness?"

"Yes, his name was Jack Harkness," Miranda said smiling at Henry. She hadn't expected him to remember. She had invited all of her immortal friends to that wedding since she didn't marry often. Many had been unable to make the journey, including Henry. She still had the silver tea set Henry had sent them as a gift. "Captain Harkness is the man I married long ago. At the time, we didn't know each other's secrets and we are no longer together. It is a tale for another time, your grace. These days, the captain's heart belongs to Ianto Jones."

The slightly awkward silence was broken when Ianto strode into the room carrying his silver tray. He set Henry's tea cup down in front of him and some food. There was a reheated slice of pizza and Miranda recognised the remnants of a shepherd's pie from her fridge. Henry raised an eyebrow at the small pot of honey. He'd never gotten around to telling Ianto it was what he preferred in his tea.

"I hope these are to your liking, my lord Richmond," Ianto said. "May I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you," Henry said as he pulled the food towards him. "And will you please stop. It's Henry. I get enough of that ridiculous nonsense from her."

Ianto coughed in an attempt to conceal a laugh and Miranda glared at him. He relaxed his butler persona. "I'm sorry, Henry. She put me up to it."

Henry shot Miranda a death glare and she smothered a grin.

"I'll be reviewing the CCTV footage, Mandy, call if you need anything," Ianto said. He left the boardroom laughing a bit.

"It isn't enough that you insist on the old formalities, Mao-Lin, now you must involve your friends?" Henry scolded.

"Forgive me, your grace, I couldn't resist," Mao-Lin said with a smile. "And you know the reasons I refer to you as such. It is what I am comfortable with."

Henry shook his head as he continued to eat. Almost as if by magic, Ianto appeared a few moments after Henry had finished. He put down an empty glass and can of soda in front of Miranda and refreshed Henry's tea cup. He cleared away the dirty dishes.

"May I get you anything else, Henry?" he asked. Much to Henry's relief, he'd dropped the annoying honorific.

"No, thank you, Ianto," Henry said with a smile.

The Welshman turned to Miranda. "We still don't have anything on Harding, Mandy. Fish is working with Gwen on the CCTV and the facial recognition. Jack would like to speak with you when you're done here."

"Thank you, Ifan. We'll be out shortly," Miranda said.

He gave a short bow and went back into the main Hub with his silver tray. Henry raised an eyebrow at Ianto as he left. Henry wondered why an organisation that dealt with aliens would hire a butler. He felt Ianto Jones to be a man born out outside his time. The man was impeccable. His father would have adored him. He reminded Henry of the past.

Miranda cleared her throat and said seriously. "Your encounter with Gareth Harding was the second time he has slipped through our fingers. Jack and I are concerned that he may flee the city. We are running out of time. I'm going to take you through the attack, your grace. It is possible you saw something that can help us. You can obviously give us information other victims cannot."

"I don't know how I can help you, Mao-Lin. It happened quickly. The creature was unnaturally fast and strong," Henry said shaking his head. He watched as she stood up and dimmed the lights in the room.

"What happened in the alleyway?" Miranda asked, sitting back down in her own chair.

"I purchased my ticket and then Joe and I went to find something to eat," Henry said. "There was a strange noise from the alley behind us, like a hissing cat. When I went to investigate, there was a wounded man. That was when Joe phoned for an ambulance. There was another wounded man at the end of the alley but it was a ruse. When I knelt to give aid, he attacked me."

"I'm going to take you through this slowly. Breathe, Henry," she said, dropping the honorific so as not to distract him. "Perform the sequence, keep your eyes closed and relax."

Henry inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. He settled back into the chair, his eyes closed.

"You stopped at the bake shop," Miranda said. She kept her voice soft and low, speaking slowly. "What did you buy?"

"A cup of tea and a pasty - cheese and bacon," Henry said.

"Did Joe get anything?" Miranda asked, again, using Fish's name so that Henry could focus.

"Not at first," Henry said. "He went into the shop after I'd gotten mine to get something for himself."

"Something made you turn towards the alley, what was it? A sound? A smell?" Miranda asked.

"A hissing cat," Henry said. "No, it was like a hissing cat but different, raspy. A young girl tried to dart down the alley, I stopped her."

"You returned the child to her mother and then what happened?"

Henry furrowed his brow. "A man, calling for help."

"You saw him on the ground," Miranda said. She kept her voice slow and calm.

"Yes, he was injured - a wound on his belly and something behind his head. I don't think he knew I was there," Henry said.

"You knelt to help. Did you hear anything in the alleyway? Any sounds or smells or see anything out of place?"

Henry shook his head, his eyes still closed. "Nothing… stale urine… rubbish and litter…"

"Let's move forward a bit. You said there was another man at the end of the alleyway?"

"There were a few bags of trash, he was laying on top of them."

"What was he wearing?" she asked, again keeping her voice calm.

"I don't remember," Henry said.

She said slowly, "Take a deep breathe, Henry. You do remember. You were kneeling beside the other man and you looked up and saw him."

"A pair of dark olive trousers… dark boots, the rest was obscured by the trash," Henry said.

Miranda suppressed a sigh. There was nothing there that could help them. "You left Joe with the first man and then went down the alley. You bent down to help him, what happened?"

"His eyes opened and he grabbed my throat," Henry said, frightened. "I couldn't breath. I couldn't call out to Joe to warn him."

"It's all right, Henry. Joe is safe," Miranda said, seeing Henry was becoming agitated. "Was there anything about him you remember? Something on his clothing?"

"He was so strong. I had to break his arm before he let go of me," Henry said. He shook his head with his eyes still closed. "His hair was dusty, so were his clothes. The sport coat he was wearing was too small for him, his arms were too long for it."

"Was there anything on the jacket? A symbol? Anything at all?" Miranda asked.

"No, nothing, it was a plain sport coat," Henry said, furrowing his brow and then Miranda saw his nose wrinkle.

"You were right next to him. Describe him to me," Miranda said, easing Henry through the memories.

"Light hair and a long, effeminate face," Henry said. "Pale skin…"

"Anything else about him, Henry? A strange smell or odor? Like a street person?" she asked.

"A bit… there was something else… petrol," Henry said. "Petrol and exhaust."

Miranda nodded and then got up to turn the lights back up.

"I don't see how any of that can help you, Mao-Lin," Henry said, as he opened his eyes.

"Perhaps it will or perhaps it won't," she said with a shrug and then gestured for Henry to follow her out into the main Hub.

"Is there somewhere I can make a phone call? I need to speak with my gallery representatives in London. I was supposed to be there an hour ago," Henry said.

"Your mobile will work within the Hub. You can make your call from in here. Might I suggest you tell them you were mugged but uninjured and are tied up with the police? Gwen can help you should you require more confirmation," Miranda said. "When you're done, you can join us outside in the main Hub."

She left Henry to his phone call and walked out into the main Hub. Fish was sitting at his workstation, deeply concentrating on whatever was on his screen. Miranda saw the hard set to his jaw and the tension in his shoulders. She stepped over to him and said, "Henry is in the boardroom making a quick phone call. He'll be out in a minute."

Fish only gave her a stiff nod in reply and continued with his work. Miranda walked over to Jack who was standing behind Ianto as the two men were combing through more CCTV footage. She jerked her head and Jack followed her out of Ianto's earshot.

"When this case is over, Fish is suspended for a week," Jack said. "Weevil duty for a month."

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh, Jack," Miranda whispered. The Weevil duty she understood but an entire week's suspension?

"He could have had him, Will," Jack said. He turned so that none of the team could see his face and then smiled at Miranda. "And it's not as big a punishment as you think."

Over Jack's shoulder, she saw Henry leaving the boardroom and walking over to Fish. The two lovers embraced quickly and then spoke for a few moments. Fish got up to speak to Gwen and then Ianto and then returned to his own work with Henry seated beside him. Miranda raised her eyebrows, seeing Jack's ruse.

"Henry was supposed to go to London and then Paris!"

"And now Fish can go with him," Jack said, giving her a self satisfied smile.

"You sly bastard, Jack Harkness!" Miranda hissed, doing her best to smother the smile that threatened to break out over her face. She screwed her face up in mock anger. "Fish hasn't taken a holiday from Torchwood since he joined. If you extend the suspension, he can go back to Vancouver with Henry."

"I thought about it but the rift predictor isn't pretty for the next month," Jack said.

"Jack? Miranda?" Gwen called out and the two immortals were by her side immediately.

"What do you have, Gwen?" Jack asked.

"Henry said that Harding smelled like petrol and exhaust fumes," she said. "It didn't seem like much of a clue but then I remembered this…"

Gwen brought up some CCTV footage and started to play it. It was Harding, wandering along a road out of the west side of the city. "Fish was right, Harding never seems to return to the same place twice but most of the bodies we've found were in the south western portion of the city. This footage is from last week. There's services along this road. The facilities have been closed down for years for renovations but its still in use for refueling and parking."

"He could have been working there too," Jack said. "Good work, Gwen. I thought I smelled petrol in the toilets at the park."

"We need to get out there, Jack. It would be the perfect place for him to hitch a ride to another city," Miranda said.

"Okay, everyone, let's go," Jack bellowed across the Hub.

"Jack wait," Miranda snagged his arm and led him away from the others. "We should take the Duke with us."

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Absolutely not, Will. He's a civilian."

"He's an immortal of the Game. Trained by me," she said, flatly.

"He'll distract Fish," Jack insisted.

"Fish has learned his lesson, Jack," Miranda said. "You saw how dangerous Harding is. The Duke is over four hundred years old. He is fast and strong and more than capable of defending himself. He is also another immortal to protect the others."

Jack thought for a moment. Anyone trained to fight by Miranda would be positively lethal. Jack was still concerned that Henry's presence would distract their technician but another immortal to protect the the others was too tempting. "Leave it up to the two of them. I'll get everyone else ready. We'll meet you in the garage. Gwen? Yan? Get the kit and let's go. Fish? Henry? Will wants a word with you two."

Gwen, Ianto and Jack moved off down the hallway that led to the Hub's garage while Fish and Henry stayed behind. Miranda walked to the small weapons cabinet. She unlocked it and took out one of their standard issue sidearms.

"The parasite has made changes to Gareth Harding's body. He is faster and stronger than the average human being as you have already learned. Your help would be appreciated, your grace," Miranda said, handing Henry the gun butt first.

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Evie?!" Fish shouted. Henry had already been killed. He'd already gone through a painful revival that had left him fatigued and weak. How could Miranda be suggesting this?

She gave Fish a hard look. "The Duke is immortal. I trained him to fight. He is a lethal instrument capable of defending himself as well as another immortal shield between you, Gwen, Ianto and danger."

Henry took the gun from Miranda. He unloaded the clip, ensuring it was full and then snapped it back into place. He pulled back on the slide and chambered the first round. After ensuring the safety was latched, he put the gun into the waistband of his trousers at the small of his back. Fish watched his lover with shock.

"Henry, don't," Fish pleaded.

"She's right, Joe," Henry said. "If I can protect you, I will."

Miranda drew herself up and narrowed her eyes at her student. "You will let Fish do his job. You are with us to help, not hinder. If you interfere, you _will_ suffer the consequences."

"I understand," he said.

"Good, then let's go," she said.


	27. Chapter 27

The Torchwood team plus one drove out to the services. There were a few lorries parked or refueling. The building that normally held the facilities was clearly abandoned, some of the windows were boarded and a large portion of the roof was under construction. The smell of petrol and exhaust was heavy in the air. They had taken two vehicles, the SUV and Miranda's own car as six people wouldn't have fit in the SUV comfortably. The entire team was standing in a circle, listening to Jack's orders.

"The abandoned building is where we're most likely to find him. It's been two hours, let's all hope he hasn't found a ride out of here. I'm hoping he's holed up somewhere wounded," Jack said. He turned to their temporary team member, handing him a comm unit and eyeing the gun. "Will said she brought you up to speed on the way over here. I hope you know how to use that. You follow my orders, got it?"

Henry nodded but looked a bit offended. "Yes, Captain. I know how to follow orders and fire a gun accurately. I served England during both World Wars in the Royal Marines."

Jack raised his eyebrow a bit in surprise but turned to the others. "Gwen, Fish and I will take the side entrance. Will, Henry? You two take the front with Ianto. "

Miranda saw the brief look that passed between Fish and Henry before the team split up. It was identical to the look that passed between Jack and Ianto. The two teams went their separate ways. Henry let Ianto get further ahead of them so he could speak to Miranda without fear of being overheard. He jerked his head at Ianto's back.

"How far should I go protecting him?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"I am trying to preserve his normal life as long as I can but if the choice comes between Ifan and Gwen or Fish, you know which choice to make," Miranda said, just as low, and saw Henry nod.

The three of them reached the front entrance. The doors were chained shut. Miranda uttered an ancient curse and then tapped her comm unit. "Jack, the front entrance is chained and padlocked."

"So's this one, circle around the building, there may be another way he's gotten inside," Jack said. "If not, then we're going to have to call in the locals, shut the place down and start searching the lorries."

"Henry, go that way," Miranda said. "Ifan and I will go this way. If you see him, shoot to kill. He has survived center mass shots. Go for the head."

"Understood," Henry said.

He moved off with his gun pointed at the ground, looking up and down the brick wall of the building as he went. He stopped. There was a broken window above him with a bloody hand print on the glass. He bent down low and saw a few drips on the brick wall as well as the shrubs. He tapped his comm unit as Miranda had shown him. In a low voice he said, "Captain? I'm on the western side of the building. There's a broken window here. There's blood on the glass and the ground."

"Stay there, Henry. We'll come to you," Jack answered.

In a matter of minutes the entire team was staring up at the window. Fish was bringing up a layout of the building on his PDA. Everyone crowded around, looking at the display.

"It's a washroom, Jack. If you enter the building through the front entrance, it's here," Fish said, indicating the appropriate area on the screen.

Jack scratched his head, weighing his options. "Okay. If he can get in through that window he can also get out. Gwen? Fish? Let's-"

"There should be two immortals inside the building, Jack," Miranda countered.

Jack nodded and thought through his options again, mortal and immortal. Two immortals and one mortal were the best option to enter the building. Even better still would be two and two but it was difficult to get an idea of the scale on Fish's PDA and four people may be crowded inside the building.

Fish was the best mortal option not because of the situation inside the building but because of the situation outside of it. He may be the best shot on the team but Fish was the oldest and his knee continued to trouble him. If Harding escaped outside, there would be a foot chase - something that would be difficult for the forty year old.

As far as the team's immortals, Jack would have preferred to leave Miranda outside. The four thousand year old woman was easily the fastest and strongest member of the team. She was the best option to pursue Harding on foot but that meant Jack would have to take Henry into the building with him and Fish.

Despite Miranda's assurances that Henry was a capable fighter, he wasn't a part of the team. The close quarters of the building could necessitate the silent communication and anticipation that a cohesive unit gained from working together over time. He was also reluctant to pair Henry and Fish. He didn't want their obvious love for each other to cloud the situation. It was why he often paired Miranda and Ianto together. It was the immortal woman's preference anyway though he never understood why. None of the scenarios Jack considered were ideal. But he made his decision.

"Will's right. Gwen, Yan? You two stay out here with Will. Stand at the corner of the building so you can watch the window and the front entrance. Yan? The bolt cutters are still in the SUV right?"

"Of course, sir. Quality kit," he said a little affronted.

Jack had been debating whether or not to take Harding dead or alive. Handing him over to UNIT alive raised a multitude of moral implications not to mention the issue of keeping him alive. The fact that the parasite was incubating several growing parasites was also a recipe for disaster. In the past, Torchwood leaders wouldn't have given a second thought to simply executing Harding but Jack tried to run Torchwood differently. Though his methods and thinking were different, the outcome was all too often still the same.

"Okay, Fish, Henry, you two come with me inside. Everyone, listen up. We're not taking anymore chances. We shoot to kill. We are not taking Harding alive."

Jack stopped at the SUV for the bolt cutters and the three men approached the front entrance. Jack handed the bolt cutters to Henry who cut through the padlock with ease. They drew their guns and crept into the building. As they approached the washroom door, they saw a trail of dried blood. Circular drips and dried smears littered the floor and led off to another doorway. Fish brought up the floor plan on his PDA and held it up. The doorway led to a staircase for a basement.

Jack walked towards the doorway. He shifted his fingers on the Webley's grip, the wood familiar and comfortable in his hand. Fish grasped the doorknob and the immortals raised their guns. When he opened the door the stairway was empty. With Jack and Henry in front, the three men descended into the dark room. Jack felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

The smell hit them first, wrinkling Jack's nose - sweat, urine and blood. They followed the blood trail into the dimly lit room. Harding was curled in a corner next to a large pool of congealed blood. Jack saw the parasite infested man's chest rising and falling. He was alive.

Wary of a possible ruse, Jack signaled for Henry and Fish to hang back. He loathed to execute a prone and defenseless man but Jack raised his gun and quietly pulled back the hammer. Harding heard the noise and turned, letting out his unearthly howl-like shriek. His movements were sluggish from his injuries but Jack wasted no time and began firing. Henry strode forward in front of his lover, protectively, with his gun also raised and began firing. Neither man stopped until Harding fell back onto the concrete.

Jack's revolver was empty but Henry still had some rounds left. The two men stood there for a moment and Jack gave Henry a single glance. Henry held up four fingers. He still had four rounds left. Jack couldn't help but be impressed by Henry's performance during the whole situation. The immortal man was well trained. He followed orders and took non-verbal cues well. Jack made a mental note to speak with Miranda after this was all over.

Henry stayed close behind Jack as the other immortal knelt to check Harding. Jack felt the man's neck for a pulse. There was none. He stood up and shook his head. To Jack's surprise, Henry strode forward and pointed his gun at Harding's head. His intention clear, he looked at Jack for permission and the Torchwood captain nodded. Henry put two bullets squarely between Harding's eyes in quick succession.

With a sigh, Jack tapped his comm unit. "Guys? Grab a body bag from the SUV. Harding's dead. We need full clean up down here."

Fish was standing, gaping at his lover. He hadn't thought Henry capable of killing or even violence. Every moment he'd spent with Henry, he'd seen a loving and gentle man. Now that same man had slipped into a military-like role with ease, even ensuring Harding's death with a cold precision worthy of Miranda. There was so much about this man that he didn't know. He felt the fears and doubts about what the two of them were doing together rising in his mind again.

"Are you all right, Joe?" Henry asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Fish said, shaking off his thoughts. This wasn't the time or the place. He gestured at Harding's corpse. "Poor sod. So fucking pointless…"

Henry gave his lover a look of confusion with a touch of disbelief and said, "Death is always pointless, Joe."

Suddenly, Henry stiffened.

"An immortal," he hissed. He turned around, raising his gun defensively and Jack put his hand on his arm.

"It's just Will," Jack said.

Henry raised his eyebrow, not lowering the weapon. His sword, like Miranda's, was in her car. He was defenseless against a challenger. "I mean no disrespect, Captain Harkness, but you can't know that for certain. Mao-Lin was my teacher. She would have my hide, if I did not defend myself."

Only after Henry saw Miranda did he lower his gun. Miranda inclined her head to him, a small smile on her face that had a hint of pride in it.

"Jack? Give me a hand with this? I don't think the others should touch the body," Miranda said as she tossed the body bag to Jack.

It didn't take Jack and Miranda long to get the bloodied corpse loaded into the bag. Henry and Fish held the doors for them as they went up the stairs and out the front. Ianto had already backed the SUV up to the front door and had the boot open, limiting the view for the curious. Once the body was loaded, the team began cleaning up, removing all traces of Harding from his basement dwelling. They finished their work quickly. It seemed Harding hadn't been squating in the building long.

The six of them began driving back to the Hub. Henry and Miranda were in her car. Henry had a pensive look on his face that Miranda didn't often see.

"Joe faces such danger often?" Henry asked.

"As I said, your grace, Fish is a capable and highly trained agent," she assured him.

"That was not my question, Mao-Lin," Henry said, not bothering to conceal his anger.

Miranda sighed. The Game existed beneath the surface of humanity. The immortals within it led violent lives, killing each other in the shadowy background as mortals went about the every day. Now, Henry had gotten a glimpse of a darker shadow laying beneath the Game. It was a shadow that engulfed someone he loved and Henry was shaken.

"I will not lie to you, your grace. The job of a Torchwood field agent is a dangerous one. We have a high mortality rate," she said. "Jack and I intervene as often as we can."

Henry looked out of his window for a moment. He asked softly, "How long, Mao-Lin?"

"My Lord-"

"How long?" he snapped.

"The longest a Torchwood field agent has served is seven years," Miranda said sadly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw tears collecting in Henry's green eyes.

"Your grace, listen to me, do not look at that number as a countdown for your time with him," she said, gently. "I cannot promise Fish will live to a ripe old age, but I could not make that promise even if Torchwood was not standing in his way."

"Do not placate me with your philosophical drivel, Mao-Lin," Henry barked. "By allowing any mortal to join your ranks, they sign their own death warrant."

"Neither here nor there," she said, impassively. "Nearly five hundred years you have walked this earth, my Lord Richmond. How many people have you seen die who deserve life? How many have you seen graced with immortality who have done nothing but wish for the world to burn?"

"Your past sins-"

Miranda interrupted him. "Are also neither here nor there. They simply are. We cannot give life, your grace, all we can do is live it. We are all on borrowed time from the moment we come screaming into this world, mortal and immortal alike."

Henry said nothing. He'd heard her say all of this before. He felt like a youth again, listening to her lessons.

"You are my student. You are one of my best friends and I love you, Henry," she said and he turned at the use of his name. She remembered and repeated words that Jack had said to her years ago. "I do not wish to see you hurt but regardless of Torchwood, you will stand over Fish's grave one day, as will I. He is a selfless, noble man of great honour. He is a valuable member of our team. His work has saved countless lives."

"Yet he must make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good?" Henry scoffed.

"Jack and I will do our best to protect him. You are not the only person who cares about Joe Fischer," Miranda insisted. "When he first joined Torchwood, I was very much against it. Like you, I did not want to see a good man die needlessly. But those who give their lives to Torchwood do so to protect humanity. Would you not do the same, my Lord Richmond? If you could save the whole of humanity at the cost of your own life, would you not gladly do so?"

Henry turned to look out his window again. She was right. When the World Wars began, Henry had been living in America. He was the fifth Earl of Nottingham. He was the first Duke of Richmond and Somerset. He'd wasted no time in returning to his native England to defend her against her enemies, to serve the great country his father had taught him to love. Now he had learned of new enemies, not against England or even the United Kingdom but against the human race. For the first time in his life, he was truly thinking of humanity as a whole.

The idea of alien threats made the squabbles between warring nations seem so trivial. The idea softened his heart and made him feel connected to every human being on the planet but it also terrified him to the core. He was only beginning to understand the importance of Torchwood's work. If the human race was indeed under constant assault from this rift that Fish spoke of, Torchwood was essential. He understood why his teacher worked for the organisation, returning to Cardiff many times over the past half century. It was not a mantle he could or would take up himself, but his lover had chosen to defend humanity. How could Henry take that enormity from him without Fish eventually resenting him?

"You will protect him?" Henry asked, his voice a bare whisper.

"As best I can, I swear it to you on my head, your grace," she said.

Henry closed his eyes. It would have to be enough. Miranda Ryan did not swear on her head on a whim. "I love him, Mao-Lin."

"I know. I see how you look at him and how he looks at you," she said with a smile. "Fish deserves happiness. You both do. Loss and pain are inevitable to mortal and immortal alike. Love when you can, while you can. I'm sorry that Torchwood has interfered with your time together."

"I plan to relocate here as soon as possible," Henry informed her.

Miranda's smile broadened. "It will be wonderful to see you more often, my Lord Richmond. I have missed your company. I'm sure Torchwood can smooth over things with the Border Agency when…"

She trailed off as the SUV pulled ahead of her. She pushed her own car harder and tapped her comm unit.

"What the fuck is going on up there?" she asked. "Jack? What's with the lead foot?"

"The body bag's moving, Will," Jack said. "We need to get back to the Hub. Now."


	28. Chapter 28

With a squeal of tyres, the two cars pulled into the Hub garage. Before the SUV had even come to a complete stop, Ianto bolted out of the passenger side and slammed the red button on the wall. The red lights began to flash and all the safety doors slammed shut, barely heard over the klaxon. The computer's voice started to speak.

"Torchwood lock down… Torchwood lock down… Torchwood lock down…" she repeated over and over again.

Gwen and Fish got out of the SUV, their guns drawn.

"Stay back all of you!" Miranda roared as she got out of her car. She loaded a fresh clip into her gun with a snap. Henry was on her heels.

"Clip, Mao-Lin," Henry shouted.

"Stay with them," Miranda said nodding towards the mortal members of the team. She tossed Henry a fresh clip from her pocket and he reloaded his gun.

Gwen, Fish and Ianto stood in a semi-circle further behind Miranda and Jack, next to the wall. Henry took his place in front of them, his gun raised.

Jack had his gun pointed at the floor, the other hand on the boot's handle. "Ready, Will?"

"Ready, Jack," she said.

He opened the SUV's boot. She saw the hard ballistic glass across the SUV's back seat. Someone had activated the boot's own lockdown, sealing it off from the team. Miranda saw the movement across the body bag. Adrenaline was pounding through her veins. The crinkle of plastic was echoing in the concrete room. The zipper had worked its way back and Miranda saw thin tentacles peeking out from it.

"Goddess below, the embryos. They're developed enough to survive," she gasped. She took a step forward to unzip the bag.

"No, Will, don't!" Jack ordered. "Let them work their way out. We'll pick them off one by one."

"Fish, Gwen, Ianto, you three get up here. You're better shots than I am," she said.

Henry snagged Fish's arm as he pushed past him. "Joe!"

"Stop, Henry, let me do my job," Fish said. Angrily, he shook off Henry's grip.

"Joe, please," Henry begged, reaching for his lover's arm again.

"Enough!" Miranda roared. "Forgive me, your grace, but I did warn you."

Miranda turned, lightening fast, and let off a series of shots. The bullets impacted Henry's chest, sending blood spraying as Henry crumpled to the ground with a dull thud. A pool of blood began to form underneath his body, and a gurgling noise escaped his lips. Henry gulped one last breath, his body stiffened and then relaxed, the breath released like a sigh. The light left his eyes and Fish's heart shattered.

Fish often saw Ianto leave Jack laying injured or dead as their standing orders dictated. The stoicism had always astonished him but now he understood. _'For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world…'_ He knew what could happen if even one of those infant parasites escaped. He turned away from Henry's fallen body. The first step was the hardest but he took another and then another until he stood between Ianto and Gwen and raised his gun.

One of the infant parasites emerged from the bag. It flopped onto the carpet of the SUV's boot and started to roll, using the tentacles to propel itself across the carpet with surprising speed.

"Got it," Fish said and fired. The parasite exploded as the bullet ripped through it.

Two more of the tiny parasites pushed their way out of the bag, rolling across the carpet. Gwen and Fish both fired and they exploded. The zipper of the body bag was open further now. Half a dozen parasites flopped out of the bag and were skidding across the SUV carpet as the whole team fired their weapons. One of the parasites escaped, managing to make it to the concrete floor. Miranda drew her sword and swung, the metal cleaving the parasite in two and sparking on the concrete. The rest of the team continued to fire into the SUV's boot as more infant parasites fell from the bag. Miranda continued to hack away at any that landed on the concrete floor.

Finally, the parasites falling from the body bag stopped. The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the closed room. Miranda looked at Jack. He reached forward and unzipped the body bag completely.

"We have to be sure. Everyone at the ready," Miranda said. She stepped forward and dragged the body from the bag with Jack's help. There were a few stray parasites inside the bag itself and clinging to Harding's body. The team picked them off quickly. There were far more within Gareth Harding than had been inside Jessica Rees.

With her knife, Miranda began cutting the blood soaked clothes away from Harding's body. One of the infant parasites was inside of his shirt and it immediately latched itself onto Miranda's arm, the tentacles burying themselves into her flesh.

"Goddess below!" she cried as she dropped her knife. She picked the knife up in the other hand and plunged it through the parasite and her arm with a scream. With a hard yank and a grunt of pain, she pulled the knife out. The tentacles slid out from the wounds they'd created and blood began to drip onto the floor. The parasite was still impaled on the knife, next to the hilt. With a flick of her wrist, Miranda flung it onto the floor.

She ripped the sleeve of her shirt off and used it to staunch the blood. She tossed the knife to Jack. He caught it, mid-air and took over cutting away Harding's clothing while she waited for the wound to heal itself. Another parasite was hidden inside of Harding's trousers but Jack managed to avoid getting the thing attached to himself. He stabbed it with the knife and flung it to the floor with a look of disgust on his face.

Harding's nude corpse was now strewn across the concrete floor of the Hub garage, its belly mangled and twisted. The intestines, ropy and purple were poking through the holes caused by the emerging parasites.

"Jack," Miranda said and held out her hand.

He handed over the knife and stepped back as Miranda knelt over the corpse. With chilling efficiency, she slipped the knife into Harding's ruined belly, splitting the corpse from pelvis to breastbone using her fingers as a guide like she was gutting a piece of game. The rest of Harding's intestines spilled onto the concrete followed by the foul stench of gut. Areas where the infant parasites had attached themselves were clear, mottled bruising and pinpoint holes were all over Harding's internal organs. While Jack searched the SUV's boot, Miranda, ignoring the gore, pulled at the intestines and Harding's other abdominal organs barehanded searching for more of the infant parasites. They found none. The threat was contained.

"Jack? We're putting this body in a sealed containment box. I'm not taking any chances," she said.

After wiping her hands on her ruined clothes, she peeked under her makeshift bandage. The wound was healed. She cut the cloth from her arm and let it drop to the floor. Jack moved off to get the containment box and Miranda turned to Fish.

"Go ahead," she said.

Fish turned and bolted for Henry. He grabbed the immortal man and dragged his body up and into his arms, cradling Henry's head in his lap.

Ianto walked over to him and handed him his stopwatch. "I started it when Mandy shot him. It's been thirteen minutes. Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest take Jack about thirty minutes and Mandy twenty, depending. I'm guessing Henry might be somewhere in the middle."

"Thanks, Ianto," Fish said, taking the stopwatch from him.

Ianto gave Fish's shoulder a squeeze and walked away to help the others. Fish sat there, cradling Henry's body in his arms. His clothes were getting stained and stiff from the blood but he didn't care. He kept his eyes trained on Ianto's stopwatch. At twenty two minutes, Fish felt a lump beginning to form in his throat but at precisely twenty five minutes and fifteen seconds, Henry gasped and flailed.

"Henry, stop! It's Joe! I've got you!" Fish said as he reached for Henry's flailing limbs. Henry let out a painful scream and then went into a coughing fit. Fish continued to hold onto his flailing lover until he calmed.

Henry turned and flung his arms around Fish's neck. "Joe! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Henry. It's over," Fish said hugged him back. He tried to banish the image of Henry's dead face from his mind. Henry leaned back to examine Fish with his own eyes. He ran his fingers along Fish's face, ensuring the man he loved was safe and unharmed. Fish saw the change in Henry's face as he got to his feet. His green eyes were ablaze with anger and rage.

"Henry, don't!" Fish hissed but Henry wasn't listening to him.

He failed to hold him back and Henry took two quick steps towards Miranda's turned back with a raised fist. Henry didn't get a chance to land his punch. Miranda whirled, blocking the blow easily and avoiding the second. She brought the heel of her hand up into Henry's nose, shattering it and blood starting running down his face. The immortal man backed away from his teacher a few steps. Miranda strode towards him.

"An attack made in anger is an attack that has already failed," she lectured. She threw another quick punch to his face and he fell. The rest of the team looked on in awkward silence. Miranda stood so she loomed over her student. "I warned you there would be consequences if you interfered."

She bent down, fisting Henry's shirt in her hand. She dragged him to his feet and hauled him towards Harding's disemboweled body.

"Do you see that? That is what could have befallen the human race if even one of those parasites escaped. Torchwood and your lover stand as a shield between humanity and that - enslavement and armageddon," she said, her voice like ice. She forced Henry to look at Harding's corpse. "The Four Horsemen were harmless trifles compared to what is out there. So you think on that the next time you prevent Joe from doing his job."

He shook off Miranda's grip and stepped away, looking thoroughly chastised and embarrassed by his teacher. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You have neglected your studies," she snapped. "Your training will resume when you return to Cardiff."

Henry nodded and then wandered off towards the corner of the room, his face red from anger and embarrassment. Fish crossed to him and put his hand on Henry's shoulder without realising he could possibly be embarrassing him further. Henry didn't shake off the hand but covered it with his own. Fish glanced over his shoulder, the rest of the team were trying to ignore them but Fish could feel their eyes.

There were still so many doubts running through his head. The niggling voice in the back of his mind kept repeating over and over that his love for Henry was madness, that he needed to step back, that he didn't really know anything about him, that he couldn't possibly love him so deeply so quickly.

_Sod it…_ Fish turned Henry around and planted a firm kiss on his lips. When they broke apart, they stood there for a few minutes, their foreheads resting against each other. Each one had the other's face cupped in their hands. Fish brushed his thumbs against Henry's cheeks.

Jack looked at the two men fondly and then gave Ianto a disappointed look. "You never let me kiss you when I wake up."

"That would be harassment, sir," Ianto chided. He smiled at Jack and gave him a loving look. Once the containment box was sealed, he jerked his head towards the control panel on the wall and then started towards it. Jack got up to follow him. Ianto entered his access code into the panel and then Jack did the same. The red lights stopped flashing and the computer's voice ceased. The lockdown was lifted and the safety doors opened.

Jack walked over to Fish and Henry and tapped Fish on the shoulder.

"Suspension, one week, effective immediately," Jack said, trying his best to look stern.

"Jack… I know I cocked everything up, all right-"

"No arguments, Fish," Jack said. Unable to keep up the pretense any longer, he gave Fish a small wink. "I hear Paris is lovely this time of year."

Fish's eyes widened as he realised Jack's true motives. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he said, "Thank you, Jack."

With a pat on Fish's shouder, Jack smiled. "Don't mention it, Fish. Finish your reports and then get out of here."


	29. Chapter 29

After getting cleaned up, it didn't take Fish long to finish the reports, typing at lightning speed. The idea of four whole days with Henry fueled him on. He saved the digital copy to the archives and printed one for Jack to sign. With a wide smile on his face, he walked across the Hub floor. Before he knocked on Jack's door he tried his best to look grim. He was being 'punished' after all.

"Come in!" Jack shouted.

"I've got my report, Jack," Fish said, still trying to keep the volume down on his excitement.

Jack held out his hand and said, "Give it here."

Fish handed him the small stack of papers and Jack signed the report without so much as half a glance. He dropped it into his file box with a flourish and shot Fish his ten thousand watt smile.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Jack said, wagging his finger at Fish.

"Wow, way to limit my options there, Jack," Fish teased with a playful eye roll. He gave him a wave over his should as he left the office. "Bye, Jack!"

"Bye, Fish!" he replied.

Fish found Henry in the autopsy bay with Miranda. She was preparing Harding's body for transport to a secure UNIT facility. The two immortals were chatting while she worked. At least, Fish thought they were chatting. They were speaking… Actually, Fish had no idea what language they were speaking. He made a mental note to ask Henry about it later. He cleared his throat a bit and the two of them looked up.

"Sorry. I'm about to knock off, Evie," Fish said. He tried not to sound overly gleeful at the idea. This was technically a punishment. "I'll see you next week."

"Weevil duty for a month, Fish," she said, sternly. She was walking around the containment box, placing security tape along the lid's seam. It wasn't a measure to keep anything in, just an indicator of whether or not the box had been opened. She smiled at Fish as she ripped the tape with her fingers.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a weak salute.

"Don't call me that, Fish, or it'll be another month's worth," she joked.

"Oi!" Henry protested. "I have to endure you calling me 'your grace' and 'my Lord Richmond' and all sorts of other nonsense but he can't get away with calling you 'ma'am' once?"

"That is entirely different, my Lord Richmond," she said with a smile.

Henry threw up his arms in defeat. "Let's go, Joe. We can still make it to London tonight."

"Godspeed, your grace," Miranda said, dropping a low curtsey.

"Oh, will you stop it, Mao-Lin," Henry said, frustrated. He hugged her tightly and Fish smiled at the two friends. "I'll see you again soon."

Miranda leaned back and cupped Henry's face. "You will be careful? Especially in Paris? Remember to call upon Duncan should you need anything. I think him and Adam are still on the barge."

Henry rolled his eyes dramatically at the mention of Miranda's ex-husband and his current lover. He had little patience for their indiscretion. "Oh yes, if you'd like for me to box their ears for you-"

"I would never suggest anything of the sort, my Lord Richmond," she interrupted playfully.

He gave her a peck on the cheek and then returned to Fish's side. Hand in hand, the two lovers departed the Hub with cheerful waves from Gwen and Ianto.

With a sigh, Miranda returned to her work. She finished the paperwork and other semantic details to ready body for transport. Now all she needed to do was to sit back and wait for the UNIT vehicles. She stretched upward, hearing her back pop in a few places. She walked across the main Hub towards Jack's office. His door was open but she knocked anyway.

"Come on in, Will," he said, not looking up from Fish's report.

"Harding's body is prepared for transport. The UNIT facility that Martha has chosen is secure," she said, settling into the chair opposite his desk.

"How's Martha?"

"Good. She sends her love," Miranda said with a smile. "She's handling everything, Jack. I'm confident there won't be a problem with any rules or protocols Torchwood wants to enforce over the body and the research surrounding it."

Jack nodded. "Ianto's setting up the calls?"

Miranda nodded. "I've prepared the report. I've withheld a few details but mostly, it contains the specific signs on the victims as well as the physical changes to Harding and Rees's bodies. You can review it before I forward it to the other organisations."

Jack nodded and then sat back in his chair, giving her a serious look. He was twirling his pen around in his hand.

"There is something else you wish to discuss, Captain?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Henry, what's your opinion of him?" Jack leaned back in his chair further. He tossed his onto the desk.

"He is… reluctant," she said. She paused for a bit. "I know what you're thinking, Jack. He is efficient and capable but he would not join the ranks of Torchwood. The Duke finds the violence of the Game abhorrent and offensive. He fights only to defend himself. Torchwood would not agree with his sensitive nature."

"You said the same thing about Fish," Jack pointed out. "Henry said he served England during the wars."

"I misjudged Fish. I didn't think him capable of compartmentalising Torchwood from his good natured soul. I've known the Duke nearly five hundred years, Jack. I know him better. He served England during the wars because he felt it was his duty for king and country. War did not agree with him and you and I both know that Torchwood is a war fought daily. I will offer him a position if you wish but, I can tell you now, he will not accept it."

"He could protect Fish," Jack said.

"I know it would seem like a benefit at first but Henry will not make the hard choices, Jack. If it came down to humanity or Fish, he would choose Fish in a heartbeat. You and I both know that no one here would make that choice," she said simply. If, one day, the choice came between sacrificing Ianto or Gwen or her for the good of humanity, it would kill Jack but he would do it. So would Gwen. So would Ianto. So would Fish. Anyone who was truly Torchwood would.

That was the deal breaker for Jack. He sat considering for a minute. He'd been thinking of adding a sixth member to the team for some time now. Fish's age was largely the reason. Their technician was capable but Jack knew that soon he would likely begin to struggle with the demands of being a field agent as his body aged. They were already seeing the signs.

Miranda and Jack monitored Gwen and Ianto's field capabilities every quarter. They were evaluating Fish monthly. The technician's knee continued to plague him especially after intensive or long foot chases. It was only a matter of time before it impacted his performance to the point where it would force them to suspend his field clearance.

It would be better if their sixth team member was an immortal, someone Miranda and Jack wouldn't need to protect. The two of them were dying enough as it is. Jack hadn't wanted to say anything but he had noticed how the constant death was taxing Miranda's body. The immortal woman had lost weight. She'd always been small but now she was positively sinewy.

"Six is more than five," Jack suggested.

"Jack, adding members to the team isn't something to be forced. We've seen that go tits up enough," she reminded him. "The right person will either happen or they won't. We'll start keeping an eye out for someone."

"I'd like to add another immortal team member," Jack suggested.

Miranda shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"If there's someone you trust… Just think about it, okay? That's all I'm asking," he assured her. He scrubbed at his face a bit. "I'm glad to finally put this one to bed."

"It's been hanging over us a long time," she said, absently.

He got up from his chair and went to the other side of the desk. He took her hand in his. He gave her a sad smile as he rubbed the back of her hand with his other one.

"I've never seen you like this before, Will," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, just as curious.

"Invested," he said simply. "You're settling in this time. Always was before that you'd have your bags packed the minute you walked in the door."

She looked around his office. "This place is different now, Jack. This is your Torchwood."

Jack knelt down in front of Miranda and looked at her seriously. They'd always tried to make the most of their time together whenever she returned to Cardiff. Jack never knew how long she'd stay or when she'd be back. Whenever she left, Jack always knew she'd come back, either on her own or if he called. And now she was here again because he'd needed her. Curiosity got the best of him. He rested his chin on her knee.

"Can I ask you something, Will?" Jack asked softly.

"You just did, Jack," she said, her eyes sparkling.

He laughed but turned immediately serious again. "Why do you keep coming back here to me? To Torchwood?"

She looked into his blue eyes and smiled. "You're my husband, Jack and I love you. I thought that was clear enough."

The endearing words didn't distract him. "You can come back to me any time you want to, Will. That doesn't tell me why you come back to Torchwood."

Her face fell and a strange look passed over her eyes. A shadow filled the room. She took a deep breath and let go of Jack's hand. She wondered whether or not she should explain.

"I have my reasons, Jack," she said.

"And for the first time in over fifty years, I'm asking about them," he said with a slight smile.

"Do you remember 21 July, 1969?" she asked.

"The moon landing? Yeah, of course," Jack said, confused by the non-sequitur. He sat up, kneeling between her knees.

"Do you remember what I said to you?" she asked, feeling his hands on her waist.

Jack smiled a bit at the memory. "You called me up and you were upset. You said the world had getting too big. It was changing too fast."

Miranda dropped her voice, speaking softly and slow. It was almost fearful. "And you said, 'No, the world is getting smaller.' It terrified me. The world's never changed - not in four hundred years, not in four thousand - because people are always people. We fight over money or power or God. There are those who try to lift up humanity and there are those who just want to watch the world burn. When that man stepped onto the moon, it was the first time I felt as if the world around me had changed. I suddenly felt so small and so petty. Four thousand years of living and what had I ever done but take from the world. What had I ever done for the greater good? Nothing. And then you were on my doorstep."

"I'd taken the very next flight," Jack said.

She nodded, giving Jack a look of pure love. "When I saw you there, standing in my doorway, your arms stretched out? I knew at that moment what I could do. You always said that the twenty first century is where everything changes. I knew where I belonged - with you, here at Torchwood."

The love faded from Miranda's eyes and now she wouldn't meet his gaze. Jack watched as a flurry of emotions flashed across her face. He saw fear. He saw worry. He saw sadness. He saw regret. But most of all, he saw shame.

Jack thought he must be mishearing the tremor in her voice as she said, "I knew it was with Torchwood that I could begin to give back to this world from which I have taken so much. It was with Torchwood that I could begin penance for my sins. It was with Torchwood that I could begin to wash the blood from my hands, so that when I kneel before God on the day of my judgement, that maybe… that maybe I can do so with less shame."

"We all make mistakes, Will," Jack said softly.

"I know that your own past is far from laudable, Jack," she said with a slight smirk. "You've never told me the specifics nor would I ask it of you. Do me the same courtesy."

"If you need to talk-"

"No, Jack," she said, shaking her head ruefully. Fish, who always had a quote for every situation, had said something to her after learning that even though she was a practicing Catholic, Miranda didn't go to confession. She repeated it to Jack, "'Confession is always weakness. The grave soul keeps its own secrets and takes its own punishment in silence.'"

Jack stood up and tugged her up out of the chair. He bent his head, brushing his lips across her neck. "It's not all bad is it, Will?"

"No…" she said, breathlessly.

"Come to bed with us tonight…" he murmured against her skin.

"I have to see to Harding's transport…" she gasped. Her breath hitched in her throat as he licked a hotspot on her shoulder.

"When you get back…" he kissed her throat. "You can be in the middle… or on the end… I still have that strap on from Vythurian six… the one with the nerve interface…"

Her heart racing in her chest, as a flurry of erotic images and fantasies marched through her brain, one after another. Miranda tilted her head and kissed him. It was deep and passionate and they were both breathless when they broke apart.

She ran her finger down his nose. "I'll see you in the morning."

Upset, he tried to drag her back into his arms. Was this why she was always alone? Was this why she so calmly accepted pain in her life? Was this why she continued to refuse his and Ianto's invitations? Was she punishing herself?

"You don't have to be alone, Will. You don't have to keep doing this to yourself," he said, seriously.

"It's not what you're thinking, Jack," she said, giving him a chaste kiss. "It doesn't feel like the right time to me yet."

He stepped away from her and nodded. There was a small throat clear from the doorway.

"Excuse me, sir," Ianto said. He was grinning a bit. "Mandy, the UNIT transport is here, waiting in the garage. The gurney with Harding's body is in the hall."

"Martha with them?" Jack asked, hopeful.

"No, sir. I was told that she's at the site, readying everything for the body's arrival," Ianto said.

"Well, I'm off then," Miranda said cheerfully. "I'll be back later on tonight, Jack."

"You need a hand?" Ianto asked.

"I'm sure one of those strapping UNIT lads can do the heavy lifting, Ifan," she said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ianto opened his mouth to speak but Jack shook his head slightly. Miranda gave Ianto a small peck on the cheek as she walked past him.

"She said no didn't she?" Ianto asked once she was gone.

"Again," Jack said with a nod. "She said the time doesn't feel right to her."

"Well that's more of a reason than she's given before," Ianto said with a shrug. Miranda was an intensely sensual and tactile person but she continued to refuse their invitations even though she was clearly lonely. Her loneliness was the reason they'd started asking in the first place.

"Gwen said she's setting Miranda up with some mate of Rhys's," Ianto said with an eye roll.

Jack's eyes went wide and he sat down behind his desk. He tilted his head as he watched the UNIT transport drive out of the Hub's garage.

"Poor guy won't know what hit him," he said with a shake of his head.

"Gwen's got to focus her matchmaking efforts somewhere now that Fish is off the market," Ianto said with a laugh. His grin turned seductive. "She's gone home by the way."

"Really?" Jack said, waggling his eyebrows at his lover. "We have the place to ourselves?"

"Yup," Ianto said, popping the 'p' a bit. He took out his stopwatch and depressed the button. "You have… nine minutes and fifty seven seconds… fifty five… fifty four… fifty three."

"Wait, for what?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"To strip and hide, of course," he said with a spectacular eye roll. He brandished the stopwatch in Jack's direction and waved it a bit. "Nine minutes, forty six seconds… forty five… forty four… "

Jack's face split into a broad smile. He started removing his clothing at lightning speed. "I love the way you think, Jones. The usual special zones?"

"Hot house and my office," Ianto said, his eyes sparkling. "Hurry up, you have less than seven minutes."

Jack scooped up his clothes into his arms and ran, nude, from his office into the Hub.

Ianto called after him, "NO CHEATING!"


	30. Chapter 30

It was a warm mid-afternoon in Paris. The sky was a bit overcast but Fish didn't care. He was here with Henry and that was all that mattered. It was the couple's first day in the City of Lights. He was sitting out on the balcony of their hotel suite, enjoying the view and talking to Miranda on his mobile. He'd only called to check in since he was still on 'suspension'.

This punishment hardly felt like one. Fish and Henry had spent two blissful days in London and had arrived in Paris this morning. They would be spending another two days here and then Fish would return to Cardiff and Henry would be flying back to Vancouver. Fish was already planning an extended holiday to Canada as soon as possible. He'd poured over the rift predictor program most of the morning on his PDA to find an appropriate window. Henry had also set in motion his relocation to Cardiff. Their relationship continued its lightening speed progress. They would be getting a flat together after Henry moved, his lover finally providing Fish with enough of an excuse to get a new flat especially one with a decent water heater.

"…I'd be happy to consult for UNIT but you know biochemistry isn't my thing…" Fish said. He leaned back and put his feet up on the railing. "…Oh, just to keep an eye out, eh? I bet Jack gave them a list of rules that would stretch from Cardiff to Glasgow… Just Martha? Yeah I guess it's not really Mickey's thing… Uhuh, great…Yeah, yeah it's nice here… No, first time in Paris… He's not here right now but he'll be back later. Do you want me to have him call you?… You sure?… Okay, I'll see you when I get back… Yeah, day after tomorrow… Bye Evie," Fish said and disconnected the call.

He dropped his mobile onto the small table and stood up to admire the view. Their hotel was right on the river and Fish could see the Eiffel Tower. He looked at his mobile. Henry had left early that morning for a series of meetings. Fish was still waiting for him to return. They were supposed to go shopping. Henry was an hour late. Fish let his mind wander. He'd spent a lot of time thinking while Henry had been occupied with business and he was left by himself. He turned when he heard his mobile begin to ring. With a slight grimace, he picked it up and connected the call.

"Princess Anna, Princess Anna!" Fish shouted with a strained smile.

"FISHY!" she screeched and Fish pulled the phone away from his ear. His sister only had two volume settings, loud and deafening.

"How the fuck are you?" Anna said, brightly.

"Great. How are the kids?" Fish asked.

"Peter's at a friend's house and Emma's mucking about on YouTube watching videos for some such thing," she said. "I can't believe I got you! You never pick up your mobile! Usually, I get your answer phone!"

"I know, I'm sorry," he said. "Work's been mad lately."

"You always say that," she said. "This new job of yours works you too hard! You said you might be coming for Christmas and then you didn't even ring!"

"I know, I'm sorry," he said. She really was never going to let him live that down and it had been months ago. "So what's new with the kids?"

"Nothing new with us Nortons, thank you very much. Whenever I do talk to you, all we talk about is the kids. We never talk about you. What's happening?" she asked, not distracted by his interest in his niece and nephew.

"The same old," Fish said. _No time like the present… _he thought nervously. He said, nearly blurting, "I've met someone actually."

"YOU HAVE?!" she shrieked and Fish pulled the phone away from his ear again. "Oh, Fishy, that's wonderful! So spill, tell me all about her! How did you two meet?"

_Just spit it out…_ "It's really not all that interesting a story, Anna," Fish said. His mouth suddenly dry, Fish went back into the room and dug a water bottle out of the minibar.

"This is serious, Fishy! I don't think I've heard about so much as a second date since Olivia," she said. "I'm so happy for you!"

Fish smiled and his head snapped up when he heard the door click. Henry, a broad smile on his face, walked into the room. He waved at Fish and was about to turn away but saw the look on Fish's face. He walked over to his lover, concerned.

"Is everything all right?" he mouthed, pointing at the mobile.

Fish sighed and mouthed, "It's my sister."

Henry nodded and then went to move into the bedroom to give him privacy but Fish snagged his arm and shook his head.

"FISHY!" his sister snapped. Fish hadn't been listening.

"Oh sorry, Anna, what were you saying?" he asked.

"I was saying that I'm hoping it isn't some woman you picked up out on the pull. That, that never works out well," she said loudly.

Fish sighed. Henry was looking at the mobile, wide eyed. Given his sister's volume, Fish had no doubt that Henry could hear every word even with his mobile's volume turned down. The two of them sat down on the sofa and Henry held Fish's hand in both of his.

_Spit it out… _"No, Anna."

"I get that you need to go out and get yourself laid once in a while-"

"Oi!" Fish said, blushing. "You're my little sister!"

"I'm a grown woman thank you very much," Anna said with a laugh. "Doesn't that Gwen at work set you up all the time? Is it a woman she introduced you to?"

_Spit it out._ "No, no one Gwen introduced me to." _Coward._

"Is she a runner?" she asked. "You said something last year about a woman you fancied that you met at the Cardiff Half Marathon. Is it her?"

_Spit. It. Out._ "It's not a woman, Anna," Fish blurted. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

There was dead silence. His sister had been silent for so long that Fish looked at his phone to make sure the call was still connected. It was. He didn't think he'd heard her be so quiet for this long, ever.

"Anna?" Fish asked. He gripped Henry's hand tightly. "Anna, you're scaring me here."

"It's a bloke?" she asked in a whisper. "You're seeing some bloke?"

"His name is Henry," Fish said, bristling a little.

"MUM AND DAD ARE ROLLING OVER IN THEIR GRAVES, JOE!" Anna screamed.

Fish felt hot anger in his chest. He dropped Henry's hand and leapt to his feet, shouting into his phone, "LET THEM ROLL THEN!"

He took a few deep breaths and sat back down. He ran his fingers through his hair and then took hold of Henry's hand again. His sister wasn't saying anything and Fish had to fill the silence. The idea of his sister being silent made him so uncomfortable. "I met Henry in Cardiff, he was traveling on business-"

"He doesn't live there?" his sister asked.

"No, he lives in Vancouver," he said.

"That's in fucking Canada! You're having a long distance relationship with some bloke?!" his sister shrieked.

"He's moving to Cardiff as soon as possible and we're getting a place together," Fish said, angry.

"WHAT?! Just how long have you two been seeing each other?" she asked, loudly.

"Two weeks," Fish said and braced himself.

"TWO WEEKS?! You're moving in with some bloke you've known two weeks? What the fuck is wrong with you, Joe?" Anna screeched.

"I knew you'd take it like this," Fish said angrily. "I know it sounds mental-"

His sister screamed over him, "It's fucking lunacy is what it is! Wouldn't kiss a sheila on the first date! Straight as an arrow you've been all your life! Now you're shacking up with some bloke you've only known two weeks?! If this is some sort of mad mid-life crisis-"

"No, Anna!" Fish interrupted hotly, finally losing his temper. He leapt to his feet again. "Don't you think I know how fucking mad all this sounds? I do. Trust me. I fucking do. No one knows more than me how fucking mad it all is! Do you know how completely mental I've been for the past two weeks over all this? Do you have any fucking clue?!"

"Joe, you're the sensible one! You've always been! I don't give a flying fuck about him being a bloke. Mum and Dad would be disowning you right now but I don't give a rat's arse about the plumbing of whoever you're shagging. You're moving in with someone you've only known two weeks?! Do you know how mental that is for a normal person let alone for you?! You dated Olivia for over two years before you two even talked about moving in together!"

Fish put his hand to his forehead and then ran it back through his hair. He let out a loud sigh. Henry got up from the sofa and put his arms around his exasperated lover. Fish leaned against him, finding comfort in the embrace. Henry whispered in his free ear, "I love you, Joe."

He had spoke softly but Anna must have heard something.

"Is he there?" Anna shouted.

Fish sighed. "Yes, I told you he was in Europe on business. He's got meetings so we're in Paris-"

"YOU'RE IN PARIS?!" she shrieked and Fish pulled the phone away from his ear again.

"Yes, I'm in Paris," he said.

"Put him on the phone!" she snapped.

"Anna-"

"Joseph David Fischer, you put that man on this fucking phone right now or so help me God, I will fly all the way to Paris just so I can box your ears!" she shouted.

Fish immediately handed his mobile to Henry who actually looked a bit scared when he took it.

"Mrs. Norton, this is Henry Blount, it's a pleasure-"

"Oi! Don't you 'Mrs. Norton' me!" she shouted.

Henry pulled the phone away from his ear at the volume. His eyes went wide and Fish had to smother a grin.

"You listen to me! That's my big brother you've got bending over for you so if you know what's good for you, you'll treat him right! That man has had enough heartbreak! If you break his heart, I swear, I will chase you down so far across the world with the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind bastard children that God Almighty himself couldn't find you with a fucking telescope!"

"Yes, ma'am," Henry said, obediently.

"Good, put Joe back on," she snapped.

Henry handed Fish back his mobile, still looking a bit frightened.

"Anna," Fish asked. "Did you have to yell at him?"

"Someone needs to set him straight!" she snapped and Fish started to laugh. "I didn't mean it like that, Fishy!"

"Sorry," he muttered.

"You really thought I'd have a problem with this, didn't you?" Anna asked. "It doesn't matter to me. If you're happy that's all that I care about."

"I didn't know, Anna. We'd never talked about it," Fish said. He sat down on the sofa, relieved. Henry sat back down next to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I was worried you'd never talk to me again. Mum and Dad-"

"Why would I go and do a thing like that? Mum and Dad are gone, Fishy and so is their old fashioned thinking. This isn't like when we were kids. We're adults now. Its none of my business where you're dipping your wick or that you're taking it up-"

"Oi! Anna! Jesus Christ!" Fish cried, interrupting his sister before she could finish her sentence. He felt his cheeks burning.

To Fish's annoyance, his sister was laughing. "And don't think I'm done with you about the fact that you finally go on holiday from that job of yours and you're in Paris and not here!"

"I'm sorry, Anna," Fish said.

"Oh yes, I get it. Choose sex over your sister," she teased.

"Christ, Anna! Will you stop!" Fish laughed and blushed harder.

"You're an easy target, Fishy," Anna said.

Fish groaned a bit. Ianto was always saying the same thing. He said with relief, "I'm glad you're okay with this, Anna."

"I'm okay with him being a bloke. I'm _not _okay with how fast this is going," she snapped. He heard her sigh. "Don't you think you should take a step back, Fishy? Maybe think things over?"

He dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "I love him."

His sister was silent.

"I know. I know how mental it sounds. I do. But… I love him," he whispered. Fish turned his head and locked his eyes with Henry. "He's the love of my life. Princess Anna, he's my fairy tale."


End file.
